Trey Songz, Harper's Bazaar and Emoticons

Officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2001, emoticons have undoubtedly secured their place as part of the millennial vernacular.  Blending emotions with icons, the emoticon functions as context in the otherwise hard-to-detect-sarcasm world of texting.  Emoticons run the gamut from the conventional smiley face to the in-case-we-weren’t-already-on-the-same-page-about-this-2am-text wink face. Even Trey Songz dedicated a song to the flirting capabilities of “LOL :).”  Either used as a supplement to a text or as a replacement, emoticons are here to stay.  I continue to lament the fact that the closest emoticon of a black person is a wide-eyed racially ambiguous person in a toilet paper-looking turban, but alas.  Harper’s Bazaar has at least filled the void for the fashion conscious with its latest app consisting of a Soul Cycle bike perfect for that Monday sign-up reminder text to Bill Cunningham for when you’ve spotted him on his perch between 57^th Street and 5^th Avenue and even Karl Lagerfeld’s cat Choupette.  Unfortunately, the emoticons are not embedded within the keyboard, meaning you must open the app to send them, but trust me, it’s worth it. 

Download here.