Photo By Jason Reed /Reuters/Landov
Not everyone could pull this look off but Aretha Frankin, the Queen of Soul, did it and did it well.
There have been many stories written about this now famous Swarovski crystal, bow tie ‘church hat’ designed by Luke Song, in Detroit. Apparently, he ran out of fabric at his Detroit-based millinery due to sudden demand for historical preservation.
Joy Sewing I Houston Chronicle: … getting thousands of e-mails and phone calls from across the world, Luke Song said he has so many orders, he’s exhausted his supply. Now his 500 vendors will have to wait at least a month until they get the hat. Read the whole story.
The Smithsonian Institution wants the inauguration day hat, again for historical preservation. The world is smitten by the hat, now the designer and of course Aretha Franklin.
Dahleen Glanton I ChicagoTribune.com: The hat, dominated by an oversized bow adorned with Swarovski crystals, would be displayed alongside several other memorable items from the inauguration, including First Lady Michelle Obama’s inaugural gown. Read the whole story.
This is all very exciting on so many thought levels, however as we talk more and more about the hat and why the full throttle buzz. The question bears asking, why grey? It was a beautiful color choice by either the designer or Aretha or both. We also know that every detail of a major event such as the inauguration would have been carefully considered. We know why not red, green, orange, fuchsia, that’s obvious, but why grey? Did anyone ask Ms. Franklin or Mr. Song why they decided to use grey fabric? We’re sure he had other colors to choose from in his Millinery, so why grey? It’s hard to believe that the color grey for this historical day was never queried. Did it simply match an outfit she had already chosen for the event?
The color grey as defined by some is a free frame color of any lightness between the extremes. Could it be that the grey color was symbolic, in some way, of the hope for the future and a temporary visual assurance that change had really come to this country, as she sang, “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee”, to millions of enthusiastic Americans who descended upon the nation’s capitol or watched on television sets at home and around the world? Could the color grey represent a blending of ideas and ideology that has divided this great nation? Could the color grey portrait an America that desperately wants to come together as one people and send a message around the world that we are united? Or was it just coincidence that the color grey was chosen to speak at a time when the world was listening.
