At least couple of ways :)
First:
1. create CSS class with color: red
.red-text { color: red;}
2. add it to your element when needed
$("#your-element").addClass("red-text");
similarly call
$("#your-element").removeClass("red-text");
when it should look normal
Second: add the css property directly (again when needed)
$("#your-element-id").css("color", "red");
and to reset it
$("#your-element-id").css("color", "");
First solution is better because a) it can be re-used whenever you need red text and b) you can change the color in your CSS without hunting for the places where you use the function...