The Nike Air Max that triggered my love affair with Quiet Design

Reporting from London a few years back, Art Critic and journalist Alice Rawsthorn, wrote the following in her NY Times article :

"There are ... examples of design that come to mean just as much to us more subtly, by dint of being intelligent, elegant and appropriate. This is what I call “quietly good design,” because it is neither showy nor spectacular, just gently pleasing."

I love that - "gently pleasing." How so eloquently British of her.
Ever since I was young I was always drawn to simple, elegant and quiet design. I never liked flashy colors or complicated design. My passion for more refined forms albeit not "original" always stuck with me. I have said it many times that I do love simply designed things and forms.

I will never forget one time, growing up in Cyprus in the mid 80s, when my dad came back from a business trip and brought me a brand new pair of NIKE Air Max running shoes. 
Anxiously, I rushed his luggage.  I opened the box and there they were...
The reddest, red running shoes (see Exhibit A below). 
What? No other colors dad?  To top it all off,  there was a see through air bubble in the sole. You see, my dad thought that as a teenager I was probably going to like the "loud" design. Either that, or he fell for a great sales pitch by some guy at Lillywhites. I was so deflated.  Surely, these were for my brother not for me.  I remember I did not even want to try them on. All my friends were like "cool shoes dude." Yeah, for a clown performer maybe. And besides none of you guys are going to be cool designers when you grow up so your opinion doesn't count. 
I ultimately wore the shoes but I never really loved them. I remember just wearing them just to wear them out so I could get a new pair. I also remember trying to puncture the bubble in the sole to see if it truly served a purpose.. or was it just another piece of superfluous design.

Exhibit A

Ever since,  I have shooed away from vibrant colors. For those of you that know me, my sartorial color preferences are black, navy blue and white. Just for shoe reference, I never tire of wearing my Stan Smiths, an unchanged design since 1971 (Exhibit B). I have owned a pair of green and white Stan Smiths on and off for the past 30 years.

 Exhibit B 

How does one develop taste for design? Why do some of us like loud design and some of us quiet? Let me emphasize that I am not criticizing either sensibility. I just happen to like the latter.

Are we purely driven by trends, peer pressure, insecurities? Our parents?  I would say a combination of all of the above. Some of us take a lifetime to figure out our style and what we like and what we don't like. 
Personally, I  have to thank my dad for getting me those red NIKEs almost 30 years ago - it certainly gave me a headstart on what I did not like.

Now it's your turn. What do you prefer? Quiet or loud?  
Red Air Max ? (because they are as fashionable today as they were back then) 
or Stan Smiths ? (because they are as fashionable today as they were back then).

Sorry, you can only pick one.