Friday, August 31, 2007

I Am Rendered Nearly Speechless By This New Color

In a stunning departure Brian renders me almost without speech tonight by donning a solid, linen-looking cravat of toasted khaki! What's more, the knot appears to be a Windsor with double dimples, carefully placed so as to create a small box-pleat at its base. Was it my fervid imagination, or was there a bit of a smug twinkle in his eyes tonight as he brought us the news? Did he vote in my poll? Is he reading The Tie Report? Is he toying with me? Where are my pills?

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Frosted Iris...Iced Indigo

This tie has not been seen since May 14th. And I have missed it. The overall color dwells somewhere between frosted iris and iced indigo, and it is patterned with petite white window frames the size of a snowflake. Perfectly knotted, it was dimpled on either side, creating a square pleat centered directly below the four-in-hand. The fabric looked to be raw silk, and one could almost imagine its whisper.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

On Location, Still...And Another Big Shirt

On location again, this time in New Orleans, BW hauls out yet another oversized shirt. Although the chemise is neatly pressed, the cement hue does nothing for him but make his skin look sallow and accentuate the advancing signs of age at his greying temples. I am also becoming increasingly annoyed at the fashion quirk of the contrasting teeshirt, this one black, announcing its presence at the open neck of the overshirt. It was almost enough to distract me from the gaudy nickel-plating of Brian's buckle and detailing on his inexplicable black belt worn with white jeans. In truth, the whole outfit was...ill-conceived. Erg.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

On Location = Une Grande Chemise

* Brian is on location reporting post-Katrina, so that requires an appearance sans cravate. This has also come to mean that he must wear une grande chemise, aussi. On a positive note, BW does make a break from the endless parade of enormous and ill-fitting blue shirts and sports one of cool, pale celery. On the downside, it is still a bit large and is of an odd, techno-Euro style with many strangely-placed vents, pleats, and slits. He looks as if he might be a guest on the Dieter show in an old SNL skit. And, yes, I did notice the forest green crewneck of his teeshirt poking unceremoniously from his collar. Yet, it is green after all, and the color set off his tan in a most lovely way. Merveilleux.

Monday, August 27, 2007

A Vintage Series Favorite Makes A Re-Appearance

What a gorgeous tie, and one we have not seen since the debut of The Vintage Series of February. This voluptuous cravat, with its 3/4-inch stripes of burnished gold and royal purple, is a welcome start to the Neckwear Week. Its knot, a four-in-hand (BW's favorite), is controlled but not severe. The cut of this tie is full and generous without looking bulky or dated. The fabric--obviously silk--is reminiscent of kingly banners or royal bunting. Why this tie was so long absent from the fashion rotation in favor of, say, The Vegas Gold Tie or The Sand and Sky Tie, I have no earthly idea, but rather than be snarky about it, I am grateful and approving. Well done, Mr. Williams, well done.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Debut Tie: Serious, But Not Too Grave

Brian rebounds from yesterday's misstep with a Debut Tie. This cravat looks to be of raw silk; the background color is a muted violet, reminiscent of old purple ditto handouts we used to get long ago in school. Upon the field were thin tri-colored bands of navy (or black?), antique ivory, and burgundy. These bundled stripes were placed about two inches apart. This tie is a very vintage-looking, serious tie such as one's grandfather might have worn in a family picture in the 1940s, but perhaps with a sweater so as not to appear too grave.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Not The Dreaded...! But Yes...

Tie Which Shall No Longer Be Reviewed And Is Now Dead To Me. (And on my last day of summer vacation, too. How could he?!)

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Debut Tie: But Is It Anything?

Brian surprises with yet another Debut Tie, but my excitement is, shall we say, muted. Again, we have ultramarine blue as the field, and again we have stripes, this time of mulberry. To be completely fair, the stripes are wider, and staggered in pairs with wide swaths of the field blue between them. But it's an awkward looking cravat. Is it stylish or is it awful? Is it avant-garde or is it ugly? If I have to think this hard about it, then forget it. Besides, it's in blue and purple. I mean, where's the true Fashion Risk?

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Big Girls DO Cry, And Over This Oft-Repeated Tie

When I saw it was this tie, the purply, red, burgundy, lavender, Byzantine mosaic psychedelic patterny one again, I almost sobbed. For I am absolutely bereft of any creativity with which to bring this tedious and relentlessly reappearing tie to you. My only solace lies in the hope that there is, somewhere, a Secret Society of Neckwear Ninjas who, already alerted by my small animal-like cries of pain, are stealthily on their way to take out this tie, once and for all.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Feh.

Remember when you were in elementary school and you and your classmates made something seasonal, like a Valentine heart or a shamrock, out of colored construction paper and the teacher put them in the window? Later, when that holiday time was over, she'd hand them back, and the side that faced the window was all faded and washed out from the sun. That's what Brian's tie reminded me of tonight. The washed-out ultramarine blue was crossed on the diagonal by narrow, anemic-looking thistle stripes every inch and a half or so. Even the fabric looked stiff and cheap. This tie is awful in every way. Feh.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Rhapsody In Blue: A Debut Tie

* It's a Rhapsody in Blue tonight at The Nightly as Brian debuts a new and stunning striped cravat! A lovely slate blue provides the palette for an artistic display of narrow pearl, royal, and cornflower satin bands bordered in pristine white, all set off beautifully by the broader bands of the stormy background. This tie is sedately bold, an understated flourish, a bit of conservative flash. And I am not displeased.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers: Stripes

Yawn. I am weary of trying to come up with ways of describing this cravat, The Buff and Baby Blue Stripe of Boredom. Truly it has become a BW Fave, for it has sneaked into the Fashion Rotation with alarming regularity since its debut on 23 May--a stunning six times, most of those occurring in the span of a few weeks. Also noted during tonight's viewing of The Nightly, there was a definite stripiness in Brian's hair at the temples, not as if it were highlighted, but as if it were overly gelled. The whole stripes thing is becoming an Insidious Force. When a Fashion Motif begins to take over your actual physiognomy, it's gone too far. Look in the mirror, Brian, before it's too late!

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

An Unsuccessful Color Pairing, But An Elvis Impersonation

Ah, well. At least we haven't had to gaze upon this particular tie in almost four months. What a fashion disaster it is, with its violet blue field crossed by both narrow and wide stripes of a not-even-kissing-cousins-color sky blue. This cravat makes me think of prefolded giftwrap at a dollar store marked "Birthday, Boy" on its outer wrapper. It would, of course, be next to the square of fuschia and tangerine marked "Birthday, Girl." Tonight's Nightly did have its high point, however, when Mr. Williams signed off with a very cheeky and wholly surprising Elvis impression. I suppose I should be ever so grateful his tie was not black velvet and handpainted.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Did He Get This Tie As A Vacation Souvenir?

* Tonight, Brian treats us to a Debut Tie. Sadly, it is still a narrow stripe, but interestingly, the stripes are at such a downward diagonal that they are almost entirely vertical. The bands alternate deep true blue and pearl, the latter being shot through with a bead of golden yellow. Again, BW opted for a tightly tiny knot pulled frighteningly close, but at least this time the dimple was centered and deft. Vacation is over; it's all business, the business of fashion.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Brian Has Returned, But Which Solid Has?

*Finally back from vacation, Brian takes me by surprise and I am still at table for his return. When I view tonight's cravat via the video netcast, I am dismayed to note that I cannot make a definitive call: is this the lavender matte silk "Debate Tie" or is it the solid hyacinth/periwinkle of 25 July? In either case, I cannot endorse the puny knot, which looked as if it were punishing the fabric as well as the neck of its wearer. The single dimple was far left and distractedly off-kilter, marring the otherwise tanned and well-rested appearance of the recently on-holiday Brian Williams. Please be assured, readers, that I am redoubled in my efforts to view The Nightly properly henceforth, and will be more precise in future.

Monday, August 6, 2007

No Brian, No Tie

Brian is off tonight, replaced by the ever-impeccable Ann Curry, who wore no tie.

Friday, August 3, 2007

Did Someone Notify Mr. DeMille?

*Although I am still breathless and fluttery from the plenitude of closeups at the start of the Nightly, I will endeavor to bring tonight's cravat to life for you. This tie is another variation on the blue and gold color scheme, yet it is not the dreaded Tie Which Shall No Longer Be Reviewed And Is Now Dead To Me. Instead, this offers a deep cobalt field crossed at thick intervals with narrow butter stripes, which are shot through with a deeper goldenrod thread at their center. This tie is, I'm loathe to say, pedestrian and banal. It is so incredibly close to the TWSNLBRAINDTM, that I almost felt my gorge rise, YET! the alarmingly disarming closeup work of The Nightly's obliging cameraperson got me downright twitterpated. There. Now I've been forced into a Disney reference. I hope someone is happy.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Live From Minnesota--The Giant Blue Shirt

Reporting live from Minnesota, Brian was sans cravate ce soir, but was making a valiant effort with his new "on-site uniform" of the Giant Blue Shirt. At least this time it was not a badly-creased one, nor was it a dressy one forced to act casual; thankfully, it also did not have an unseemly black-or-perhaps-navy teeshirt poking from its oversized neckline. No, this time it was suitably pale blue chambray in the classic "work shirt" design, albeit noticeably too large. I suppose we cannot expect all defects corrected en masse. The important thing is, he seems to be trying.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Crisp and Nautical: A Return To Discipline

Rebounding from last night's Tie Travesty, Brian sported the navy blue with white stripes tonight. It is a sedate and crisp cravat, reminiscent of little boys in middy blouses and cadet uniforms saluting Mummies and Daddies at sleep-away boarding schools on Parents' Day. It has style and discipline, two features sorely lacking in last night's display.