PEOPLE often quote bits of the Hans Christian Andersen story, and then just as soon forget it, about an Emperor with a single obsession: fine clothes. All he thinks about is how to parade in his carriage showing off the latest fashion.

The story tells that one day two scoundrels offer the emperor a set of clothes the like of which no one has ever seen: made from cloth woven on magical looms, so fine that it can only be seen by the wise and