When tacky is classy?

Definitions of tacky usually include lacking style, being gaudy, being too showy, not involving good taste, etc.

Now, there are some people who are almost always tacky and some people who are almost always classy. Aretha Franklin clearly fits into the the later (I mean, RESPECT!), but today she ventured into territory that must be discussed: when can tacky be classy?

At the VERY classy inauguration of a VERY classy man, the dynamic diva belted out "My Country 'Tis of Thee," and it was fantastic. I'd expect no less from the Queen of Soul. But that bow on her hat... well, it was almost as big as her voice - and that' BIG!

Tacky? Classy?

I personally am going to vote classy. It might be gaudy, it might be flashy, it might even be tacky on anyone else. But when you're Aretha - it's classy.

Photo from:
Photo: Ron Edmonds/ AP
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/alltherage/2009/01/inaugural-hat-t.html