After realizing we cannot hide evermore from the display of alternately lackluster and shocking parade of Brian Williams' neckties of late, we have girded our Fashion Loins and tasked ourselves with the Considerable Challenge of reporting on this evening's cravat.  So, onward...

It is the striper of rich Ceylon cinnamon and burnished gold tonight.  Somewhat timidly, the beleaguered traveller approached the portals.  Their polished mahogany gleamed warmly in the late afternoon sun, and the opulent brass fittings glinted and caused his eyes to water.  He lifted the massive metal ring, almost afraid to let it fall; he knew its echo would announce his arrival, yes, but not just that.  It would carry with it the news of his failure, not just to his patron, but to her, and he could not bear to see the sympathy in her kind eyes yet again.