The WAY to WOW Shows
Cocktails & Ties
August 14, 2025
Automatically generated from YouTube captions; names and wording may contain errors.

[0:04] Who are you and where are you going? What do you want? [Music] Hello and welcome to Jiggers's place. I I just made it by, as my dad used to say, the skin of my teeth. It's been a busy day. Uh yeah, the court hearing I was in this morning took about twice almost two and a half times as long as they usually do. But the good news is I

[0:40] got the appointment and so uh you know, yay. But uh it's Thursday evening or it's the other o every other Thursday afternoon sle evening if you're on the east coast when we gather here at Jiggers's place and we have a cocktail and a smooz and prepare to relax into a weekend that uh I hope will be as restorative for you as uh I hope it will be for me. So, if you saw any of the social media posts, you you probably looked at them and said, "Yeah, this was

[1:15] coming and it it had to be coming because the guy wears a tie every time he does a show." Right now, there were a few shows when during the time when I got, you know, had been run down by the car where I appeared sai or sravat as the French would say. Uh, but you know, for the last I think couple of years now, I don't I don't think there's been a single episode where I didn't wear a tie. And and I am a big tie wearer. And I say that with apologies to my father who did not like wearing ties. So, no

[1:52] disrespect, dad up there in, you know, heaven shaming. Uh, but uh, you know, real men wear ties. So, in honor of today's show, I actually collaborated with a different LLM. This time it was Claude because Claude sounds more like a Thai guy than Chat GPT. And we came up with a cocktail called the Windsor Knot. Now, for those of you who are not Thai afficionados, that doesn't mean anything, but the winds are not is the

[2:27] classic way to tie what's what's people mostly call a tie, but what's better known or what's more precisely known as a foreign hand tie and we'll we'll do talk a little Thai nomenclature after I mix the cocktail. So, uh what is in the Windsor not? Well, first of all, it calls for premium vodka. I'm not going to give you my my talk about vodka and all that in in honor of my father since I guess you could say I'm dishonoring him by talking trying to convince you to wear a tie. Um I'm going to use Belvadier vodka. This is made in Poland

[3:02] and part of my father's family was originally from Poland. And then we're going to have some dry vermouth. This is martini dry vermouth. We're going to use some blue curacal. So curissale is an orange flavored liquor. Um it typically comes in orange and blue varieties. This is D Kyper's blue curissale. Um for those of you like me who keep kosher because cur curasal is a leure um it needs to be certified kosher and lovely diper their almost their entire line is

[3:37] kosher and they updated their labels. They look really nice nowadays and they do a nice job. And then uh some fresh lemon juice and a couple of dashes of orange bitters. I actually have um several different orange bters. Angura makes an orange bitters which is quite nice. Um and um Bitterman's makes a an orange bitters as well. I don't remember where it is. Um but my favorite of all time is Stirrings Blood Orange Bitters. It is it's like heaven to smell. I just it's just it's so good. So So uh

[4:13] so I'm going to use vitamins. And it does call for a lemon twist for garnish. And I was so pressed for time I didn't have time to make my lemon twist. Okay. So uh here we go. We're going to start out with uh 2 oz of Belvadier. And let's see. Find my glass here. Okay. Okay. There it is. I thought about using I have some little bottles of Chopan vodka that I had

[4:50] gotten many years ago at a at a liquor tasting. They have a rye vodka um that you know I don't know maybe tastes a little bit different than regular vodka does. Um but I thought not for this one I think just a a straight vodka. Okay. And then 3/4 of an ounce of dry vermouth. Okay, martini does a great job. Um, again for all you kosher people out there, vermouth 2 has to be kosher certified. Um, you're now starting to

[5:25] see some uh US wine makers making uh kosher vermouth. Otherwise, you got to get it from uh Israel, which is where I got my martini and my kari. Okay. And then blue curissale uh half half an ounce. I lost my measure. Here it is. And you can see it's got a beautiful blue color. One of my um I I keep um blue curisowl. I I I'm searching all over then I remembered. I keep it right back here. This is where I keep the things that are handy for the cocktails I like to make. Um because I uh Blue

[6:02] Hawaiians are one of my favorite cocktails. And of course that's made with blue cur. Okay. And then a quarter uh ounce of uh of fresh lemon juice. And then two dashes of of orange bitters. One, two. And we're going to stir this up. And just like when we shake a cocktail, right, we're we're stirring it as much to chill it down as we are to um let some of the ice melt because the water

[6:38] opens up the flavors of the cocktail. Right? So, we're mixing, we're chilling, but we're also uh diluting a little bit and giving the different flavors the the uh opportunity to come out by uh by mixing a little bit water. That's why you'll see sometimes even when people are tasting very uh super high quality whisies, you know, two, three plus $100 a bottle whisies, you'll see that sometimes they will have take an eyropper. In fact, I've got mine right here. and they'll put in a little a drop or two of water. And that's because the

[7:14] water um opens up the flavor of the whiskey. Okay, we're going to take our cocktail strainer and we're going to strain it. It's got that lovely blue color. Look at that. It's it's it's translucent. Can you see that? I'll move my fat fingers out of the way. Isn't that beautiful? Okay, here we go. Let's taste it. have to take another taste.

[7:54] You know what? It's very nice. A great a great twist on a vodka martini. Okay, see you over on the couch. All right, here we go. H So, as I

[8:32] mentioned, uh it's it's it's it's been a long week, uh but a good week. And um I I see got some some live viewers here. I'm so glad you can join me and uh you know I hope you'll you'll make this a regular practice. Uh I know for me this is uh one of the things I look for over a two-e per look forward to over a two-eek period is is to uh mix a cocktail and and just relax a little bit and sort of push out all the work a day stuff the

[9:07] concerns about business and finance and all that kind of stuff and just you know enjoy life for a little bit. So, uh, so my topic, as I said, is ties. And they've fallen out of fashion. Probably the only place I see men wearing ties anymore is when I'm in court, the lawyers uh, wear ties, and I think the judges do, too. It's It's hard to tell because they wear their robes. Uh, but but I I I think the judges are wearing a tie because it looks like their shirt collars are closed. Uh but

[9:44] it used to be deriggor when I was in business in the 1980s. Real estate people wore suits. In fact, suits and ties, I should say. Uh in fact, uh there's a a well-known now national real estate firm. At the time, it was just a a regional Southern California firm known as Marcus and Milichap. And they had a dress code uh for men. It was dark suits, blue or gray or black, dark gray or black. and a tie. Um, and women had to wear the female, uh, real estate agents had to wear something similar. And many of them wore

[10:20] very lovely, you know, uh, tailored suits for women, skirts or pants and a jacket and a white blouse. Um, and their agents always looked sharp. They always looked professional. And not only did they look professional, but they were professional. And and I think part of the ethos of the firm was if we present ourselves professionally then that will encourage us to be the professionals that uh that you know in the way we're presenting ourselves. Another sip here.

[11:01] So um but but especially postcoid um men don't wear ties anymore. Now for those of you who remember the very early days of the way to wow shows in the in in 2020 uh in the midst of COVID. So, uh, when when I used to turn this room, my living room into a TV studio, my very longtime producing partner, Rick Carter, who, uh, who basically we co-produced the show and Rick directed the show, uh, Rick H Rick's custom is

[11:36] when he's directing, uh, he wears a tie. And so, every every shooting day, uh, he was wearing a tie. And, and, you know, kudos to Rick. um if he was doing something else because he also he there are not not in anything we've done but in other other projects he's worked on where he was maybe the cameraman or something like that. So then he doesn't wear a tie. Right. So um so the there's I'm going to wait for a few minutes to give you the reasons why I think it's men should wear ties. U

[12:11] but first what I want to do is show you some different kind of ties. and and give you an idea of just what all is out there, right? So, one of the ties and and these were I think very popular in the 1980s were paisley ties and this is I I actually wore this tie yesterday. This is this is a what's called a foreign hand tie. That's forin hand tie. Okay. not a foreign like like not like not domestic four inhand tie

[12:46] and you can see it's it now I don't have any ties that are you know clipons I you know when I was a when I was a cub scout one of the one of the skills you had to to um to gain in order to earn I think it was become a wolf scout was to be able to tie a real tie right and so you had I had that's My dad taught me how to tie a foreign hand tie. He taught me two or three different knots. Okay. But this is this is a very classic style foreign hand tie. It's a paisley print. Um this

[13:23] is this is not the most uh dressy tie. Um a solid color tie. Black or blue um would be the most formal for a foreign hand tie. Um but but this is on the more on the more you know dressy side of ties. Um and then there are ties that are a little less dressy. Now by the way this is this tie is 100% silk. Okay. Then there are other ties. This is another one of my favorites. This is also a foreign hand tie. Um, this this I

[13:58] got from uh what you what was a classic men's wear store in the Southern Cal in the Los Angeles area actually in Beverly Hills called Carolyn Company. Um, they closed down their store a number of years ago. Now, this is a raw silk tie. So, this is not as dressy uh as as a silk tie. Um although this this also was made in Italy where Italy probably makes the best ties uh in the world these days. Um and I I love raw silk ties.

[14:33] They they don't have the sheen of course of silk, but they have the I love the texture of raw silk. And they're like I said, they're not quite as dressy. And most of the time, uh, when I'm wearing a tie, uh, I, you know, I don't have to be dressed up and so it doesn't matter. Um, and then, you know, there are ties that are, this is a print tie. This is a, this tie is a Brooks Brothers tie. Brooks Brothers makes beautiful ties. Mostly they're made in America. This is a silk tie. This is This is They're little foxes with uh with uh there's

[15:08] something blue in it. Uh, maybe they're rabbits or something. I'm not really sure. Um, but I love this tie. It's really fun. It's, you know, it's it's it's got some, uh, you know, character to it because the little foxes and, uh, you know, people, what what's on your tie? You know, that kind of thing. And that used to be, uh, you know, that used to be a fun thing. Like I one time I had a tie that was all Disney villains, you know, and things like that. Um, so even less dressy than a raw silk tie is a woven tie. Now, this I think is a Robert Talbot. Yeah. So, this is one of my

[15:44] favorite uh tie designers, Robert Talbot. And this is this is silk, but the silk is woven. And it it's a little hard to see probably on the video, but it has a a lovely pattern to it. Uh you know, this is a kind of tie that I typically would wear with maybe uh you know, an Oxford button-down collar shirt. uh with a sports coat maybe as opposed to with a suit. It's to me it's not dressy enough to wear with a suit unless it's a very, you know, casual suit. So,

[16:20] here's here's another uh Robert Talbot tie. This is very much a I think kind of a 70s throwback, but I I like it nonetheless. Uh and uh it's it's it's a lot of fun. So now lest you think that all ties are made from silk uh that that is not the case. Uh sometimes uh ties are made from wool and this is a beautiful wool tie that was given to me by my friend uh Derek Smith. Derek Smith is a a a clothing designer and

[16:56] clothingier. Uh his label is Scarf Brothers. He has a huge following on Instagram, almost 50,000 followers. Derek is brilliant uh with with uh fashion design and clothing. And and again, if you if you remember the early days of the Way to Wow shows. So Derek was the wardrobe coordinator for those shows. And uh Derek, this is a this is a vintage tie. Uh it's it's a beautiful kind of forest green color. It it's made by Pierre Vanbuk uh in England. the and Pierre Vanbuck was established in hold

[17:31] your horses 1875. They've been making ties hopefully still making ties uh for 150 years. So to wear this tie is to is is to really wear, you know, kind of a almost like a piece of history. Uh so so in terms of sort of contemporary ties, foreign hand ties anyway, that's kind of what's out there now. Um, there's another type of tie. These are these are very informal ties. They're they're they're woven. They're fairly thin. Um, you know, but if you're

[18:06] looking for something that's a little bit out of the ordinary, you know, there are ties like this. They're a lot of fun. Um, they're much less expensive than uh the other ones that I showed you. And and you know, even Brooks Brothers makes ties like this. So, this is Brooks Brothers version of the kind of the thin uh the thin informal tie. Um, and then I'm fortunate enough that when I'm not fortunate that my great uncle passed away, I don't mean it that, but when he passed away, pardon me. Um, my mother gave me some of his ties. And

[18:43] these are absolutely gorgeous vintage ties. Now, men used to wear ties much shorter. So you'll notice uh you know in distinction to this Robert Talbot tie which is a contemporary look how much shorter this vintage tie is from the you know Robert Talbot tie right so if you've ever seen uh Laurel and Hardy this is a tie that was contemporary to when Laurel and Hardy were making their short films. Um, but to show you the quality, I I I can still wear this tie

[19:18] today. And if you if you're a regular watcher of the show, you've you've seen me wear these these these classic uh vintage ties of of of late. This and the patterns are just they're just absolutely wonderful. And they're uh the ones I have are mostly kind of maroon. Although this one here is is a you know a gold and black in kind of a I'm not even sure what the pattern is. But you can see again they're just beautiful. Um, and uh

[19:53] um they're they're so much fun to wear and I get to remember and kind of pay an homage uh to to my gr my great uncle. All right. So, those are those are what are known as foreign hand ties. They're to the extent that ties are worn today, they're the most common. The next most common is the bow tie. And you know, there's not as large a range of styles

[20:30] and bow ties, at least that I've found. Um, the I I didn't I didn't bring my uh the bow ties for my tuxedo, but the most formal bow tie is a white silk bow tie. that's worn with a tail coat uh when when you're wearing what's known as white tie. Okay. The next most uh formal is black tie wearing a tuxedo. And then from there, so this is this is a this is this tie was made in in uh Italy back when Barney was still Barney the the fame department store was still in

[21:07] business. This is where I got it. This is a beautiful dark blue bow tie. It's it's classic. It can be worn with a suit. It can be worn with a sports coat. It can be worn I've worn it, you know, with with slacks, a shirt, uh, and a and a vest, sweater, vest, or regular. Um, Brooks Brothers makes some beautiful uh, bow ties. This is a Brooks Brothers bow tie. A little bit u a little bit more informal pattern. Uh, that that's a lot of fun. And uh all all all the men's wear stores are getting their, you know,

[21:42] free promo today. Uh and then uh this is this is what's known as a a rep tie and it it's because of the the stripes. This this is a tie I got when I was in New York from Paul Stewart, one of the great men's wear stores. Uh Paul Stewart is is now owned by a Japanese company, I understand. Uh, but their their clothing is is still fantastic and and the store in New York, it's it's large. The staff there absolutely knows their their stuff. And one of the other

[22:18] great things about Paul Stewart in New York is they take on consignment cuff links. I I got a beautiful pair of cufflings there. Uh, vintage cuff links. Um, you know, not to be left out on the bow ties. This is a Robert Talbert bow tie. You can see it's it's kind of a almost a pinkish salmon color um with with kind of a white design on it. Great bow tie. All of the ones I've shown you are silk. Uh, but just so you know, and here's now

[22:54] most of them I've shown you have kind of are kind of the classic shape, but there are other shapes. So, this this is a wool bow tie. Uh, it's made by Alexander, I think it's pronounced Ulch. And I got this at Barney, I believe, as well. And and you can see it's got a pointed end. It so it's it's different. You know, it ties different. Now, if you tie this tie, what you're going to find is on one side the pointed end is going to be in front and on the other side, the pointed end is going to be in back of a folded end. That is just how they are. That's part of the style, but

[23:30] they're they're a lot of fun. Now, this one, you can see, is much narrower than the others. So, there are narrower bow ties. Um, but there are bow ties with the pointed ends that are uh thick as as well. Um, and here's another one. This is a Brooks Brothers, too, I believe, right? Uh, yes, it is. So, Brooks Brothers also makes this. I love this tie. just kind of it's not quite red, white, and blue, but it sort of looks like a faded red, white, and blue. This is kind of my Fourth of July tie. My fourth Fourth of July bow tie. Again, lot lot of fun to wear. Um so, uh and

[24:08] and you know, here's my vintage bow tie. Uh you can see this is a little bit wider. This was a classic 1950s, early 1960s bow tie. This was owned by my dad. And unfortunately, I've worn it so much it's starting to get worn out. Uh, so I don't wear it very often anymore. I did wear it uh two or three weeks ago. And here's another vintage bow tie from my dad. Now, this is a formal bow tie. This is back from the uh 60s when they wore very thin bow ties. My dad wore this tie

[24:43] with a white dinner jacket. A classic classic look. Uh, and uh, and I love having these ties and wearing them and remembering my dad. So, those are bow ties. So, foreign hand ties and bow bow ties, the most common. Now, if you're going to really delve into the world of ties, you just might decide to get into the ascot. Now, most people think of an ascot as

[25:21] being this kind of shaped tie where where you have kind of it looks almost like a big flap. Okay? And this this is this is what most people to this this obviously happens to be a very formal one. This is black with a black paisley print on it. Okay. So, they're they're very formal ones. This one is silk. But let me show you. I got this in I in Cincinnati, Ohio. Isn't this look Look at this pattern. And the fellow I I wish I could remember the fellow who um was

[25:58] uh running the shop. Uh it was in downtown Cincinnati, but he showed me this and it's got these flat. It's got a very 70s feel to it, but on the other hand, it's it's very contemporary. And I this is one of my one of my favorite ties of just period. This is this is a silk ascot. So much fun to wear whether it's with a I I have a smoking jacket, a velvet smoking jacket that that's maroon. It goes with this nicely. Sometimes I'll wear

[26:34] uh it'll be like a shirt like this. It's hard to see. This shirt has a placket over the button, so it's a little more formal than a regular white dress shirt. I'll wear with a shirt like this and maybe just put on a cardigan um if I'm going to be, you know, Friday night, it's the Sabbath and I want to do something fun. Um now, not all not all ascots are uh silk. This is a wool ascot. This is made by Brooks Brothers, right? Yes, it is. And and again, it's it's a it's a lovely

[27:09] pattern. And when I want to go a little bit less dressy, especially in the winter when it's cold, and I I know it doesn't really get cold in Los Angeles, but uh when it's, you know, colder outside and I feel like I should be a little more bundled up, having this wool ascot around my neck feels uh nice and warm. It's great to sit after dinner by the fireplace, read a book, have a cognac, and and feel like I'm part of the, you know, old world or the old world aristocracy, right?

[27:44] Okay. And then finally, now ascots traditionally were not shaped that way. An ascot was just a scarf essentially. This is an ascot. This is probably from I would guess the 1950s. This was I got this from a friend of mine who was a little bit older than my father after he passed away. He uh uh essentially willed this to me because we had similar sensibilities. We had both been in the

[28:20] military and I won't go into the other reasons why we felt infinity. But you'll notice that there's no, you know, shaping to it. But it's fine because there the way that you tie this, it works out just as well and in some ways better than the shaped ascots that I was showing you before. This this is silk. Okay? And and you'll notice it has a bit of a fringed edge. Okay? So, sometimes I'll wear an ascot tucked into my shirt. Sometimes I'll wear it in front of my shirt. This one in particular I love

[28:55] wearing with a cardigan, letting it kind of hang out. And uh I I you know, not that I want to be Scrooge because I don't want to be Scrooge, but I want to be Scrooge at the end of A Christmas Carol where he's reformed and changed his ways and I feel I don't know. I feel like that sort of classic English character when I wear that. Um but you can also just get, you know, a scarf. Okay. You know, this just a plain This is a 20 inch by 20 inch scarf. It's a great pattern. It's stolen. These are made in China. You know, I I I frankly

[29:32] wouldn't buy them again, but um this is probably a a pattern stolen from who knows, Mayer May or or some other um company like that. Um but these can be tied as an ascot as well. and they're uh they're they're much less expensive and and easier to find. So, there are other types of ties, but these are the ones that you would find today. And I think the ones you would enjoy the most wearing. If you're a lady, these are the ones that you might enjoy having your your husband, your boyfriend, uh your

[30:09] son wear, uh you know, uh you know, just getting him to dress up and and and and and be a you know, a little bit of a gentleman. So, uh you know, I I always take some notes so I can make sure I I I talk about all the relevant issues. Uh, one of the one of the um reasons that men give me for not wanting to wear ties is uh uh pre-tied ties or clipons are kind of weird looking and they don't know how to

[30:44] tie a tie. So, there are many books out there that will explain to you how to tie a tie, of course, but there's got to be a ton of YouTube videos as well. I I honestly didn't take the time to find them, but I'm sure if you searched on YouTube, how do I tie a tie? How do I tie a bow tie? How do I tie an ascot? You will get more tie demonstrating videos than you would ever want to watch, okay? And they're all very good. I'm not going to show you how I tie a

[31:21] tie because, for example, with bow ties, I don't tie them the the correct way. I learned how to do it differently, and I've never been able to figure out how all the experts explain tying a bow tie. But here's the thing. My bow tie stays even. It stays level. Good enough for me. Um, this is this is a classic book that was written, I believe, in 1928. Let me double check this. Uh oh no. Oh wow. 1829 I guess was when this was written. Uh this is sort of a

[31:58] reprint that I got from Amazon. You can see kind of you see the pages there on how to tie a crevat. A crevat is another name for an ascot. Okay. Now in French cvat just means tie. Okay. But in this case I think they're uh let me just look this. Yeah. So, this is really more about how to tie an ascot or a what was known as a stock in the 18 in the 19th century. Uh, but but in any event, there are books like this, too. I I don't know. I prefer books to to videos because then I can figure it

[32:35] out based on, you know, the instructions and the drawings. And if I'm not doing it the exact way, I don't feel judged. Um but uh but but I can I can make it my own. So uh so now let's get down to to you know cases here. Why should you care about all this? Why should you wear a tie? Why should you you know for the ladies out there, why should you encourage your man to wear a tie? So I came up with six what I hope are compelling reasons why uh men should

[33:12] wear ties. So first of all I think it gives us a professional edge in the business world and in the marketplace. So there is no doubt that in many areas showing up in a tie, wearing a tie, whether you're in a suit, whether you're wearing a sports coat, whether you're dressed like I am with just a shirt and a vest, you are going to be distinctive and you're going to be remembered. Now, you might say to me, "Nobody wears a tie

[33:48] in tech." Well, yeah, that's true. uh guys in tech wear, you know, jeans and t-shirts and maybe, you know, a sports coat. What would it mean to show enough caring about your profession that you wear a tie, a a collared shirt and tie when you show up to work? Now, by the way, it I wouldn't recommend that you wear a dressy, you know, starched white shirt, although that certainly would be fine. Uh maybe it's an an Oxford button-down collar shirt uh with

[34:25] a you know a rep tie like like you know you would see in the Ivy League or a raw silk tie something like that. What is that going to mean for how people perceive you and and you know doesn't mean you have to act stuffy it act this the way you would normally act interact with people the way you would normally interact. I don't know. I think it might give you a professional edge because it shows that you care enough about the details of life that you that that that and that will translate into how you take care of

[35:00] work. So, uh I think there's a professional edge for men who are willing to wear a tie. I think too that there's a perception of enhanced credibility and this is why I believe that lawyers especially when they go to court still wear ties when a man is in a courtroom and he's either a lawyer where and and and so therefore what's known as an officer of the court and so

[35:38] by being admitted to the bar, it's understood he will be telling the the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Or whether you're someone like me, I'm not literally an officer of the court until I'm appointed, but I I may be a petitioner if I'm seeking appointment. When I show up in a tie, I'm saying something to the judge. I'm saying I I am a credible professional fiduciary. Okay? You don't have to worry about whether I take my profession seriously or not. I do. And I want you to perceive

[36:15] me as someone who's credible and someone who's who's committed to fulfilling my duty as a fiduciary, meaning setting my my duty to administrative trust above any self-interest that I might gain from that position. Right? So enhanced credibility is a second reason to wear a tie. Uh, a third reason and and this is one that I I will say resonates strongly with me is the way I dress impacts the way that I

[36:51] feel. And I feel much more confident when I'm wearing a tie because I know that I've taken the time to carefully consider how I wish to present myself to other people. And and and this is important. There are oodles of studies that show how we dress impacts how we behave. It's true for children in school. It's true for adults. And so what I want to do is set myself

[37:29] up to be behaving with the at the highest level of appropriateness. When I have a tie on, I'm more likely to do that because it it gives me the confidence, the self-possession to to be the man that I want to be. So, that's number three. Number four, this is another one that particularly resonates with me. It's it's it's a versatile, fun style statement. So, th this is a a Robert Talbert bow tie. Uh

[38:07] it's it's kind of a golden yellow with some chocolate colored stripes in it. And it's fun, you know, it's a little bit whimsical. Not super whimsical, but a little bit. And it it's it's fun to tie it. It's fun to wear it. And uh I remember um my my friend uh Jackie who's who who for for decades was my internist when I used to wear bow ties when I uh joined her when I was at her house for lunch. She'd always tease me and she'd say, "You look like a pediatrician."

[38:44] Because pediatricians wear bow ties u so that the little you know the little kids won't pull on them and choke them, right? But it it's it's it's fun to dress myself up a little bit, a little bit more than I otherwise would. And I I take a couple of minutes each morning in selecting my tie. What's going to express the way I'm feeling? Or if I'm not feeling great, what will make me feel better? What tie can I put around my neck that will make me feel better? But by the way, it's almost always a raw silk tie. So, if you see me wearing a

[39:19] raw silk tie in any of my shows, it's probably because I'm I I you know, I I didn't sleep well the night before or I've had a tough morning for some reason. Uh but but there, you know, it it it adds some creativity to the way a man dresses and and I find that an enjoyable way to start my day. So number five is wearing a tie shows respect for the occasion. Now for me I for the people with whom I

[39:54] interact whether it's in the the business world where I I last time I saw my accountant well actually not the last time but the uh this is actually now going back several years ago we we went and had lunch um my my accountant my my my very long-standing and great friend uh Bruce Bowski. So we we we met at a a a kosher restaurant in the San Franando Valley and I showed up wearing a tie and a jacket and he's and and Bruce does not wear ties. He always dresses very smartly but he doesn't wear ties. And so

[40:29] he said, "Why are you wearing a tie?" And I said, "Well, I'm coming to have an important meeting with my accountant." And so I I think I have to dress appropriately. And you know, Bruce kind of looks at me for a minute. He's like, "Wait, I'm your accountant?" Right? and you know a little bit tongue and cheek what I wanted to say to him was you are important not you know you're important in my business life in my personal life and I want to honor that this occasion because we don't get to have lunch very often and so I want you to know that

[41:05] that I I I took this extra little little step here to let you know that that that this meeting is important to to me, right? And and he hasn't asked me that since. Um but uh I I I that's one of the reasons I wear a tie is to show some honor and respect to the person with whom I'm meeting. So when I go to my bank, which is in one of the highrises in downtown LA, American Business Bank, they're up on the third floor of uh of one of the highrises in downtown LA. the

[41:42] security guard there who is required to wear a suit and he always looks sharp, right? And there are times when I would show up there having come from working out, I'm in workout clothes, I look like a mess and I no, I can't do that. I have to I have to meet this gentleman where he's living. And so now I dress like this or sometimes I'll have even have a suit on. and the kind gentleman that he is, he always takes the time to compliment me and and one of the times

[42:18] uh he he he was particularly uh kind in his compliment and I said, you know, you know that I didn't always dress appropriately to come to the bank. And I said, you know, seeing that you dress this way every time I'm here, it inspires me to up my game. And I, you know, he smiled and I I think he liked that. I think if if if he were sitting here with me, I think he would be going, "Yes, men wear t should wear ties." Right? So, but it's it's it's a way to show respect and honor for an occasion, whether it's a wedding, whether it's a

[42:54] date, whether it's an anniversary, whether it's a bar mitzvah, a kin. I don't know about a kineros. I've never been to one, but uh you know and you know some kind of family celebration wearing a tie shows respect for that occasion. So that's number five. And number six and and this I think we is is something that isn't often considered anymore and that is for centuries literally centuries men have worn ties.

[43:29] And so when we wear a tie today, we as men connect ourselves to centuries of manhood. We connect ourselves to a chivalri tradition where we had to conduct ourselves in an appropriate manner. We had to protect those who couldn't protect themselves. We had to show respect for women. And unfortunately, I don't think there's enough of that attitude and behavior in

[44:05] society today. But when we wear a tie and we connect ourselves to to that tradition to what's known in Hebrew as a mura a a a bringing forward of the way things of the way things have been done for a long long time. We compel ourselves to act in the best tradition of manhood. And to me, and that's why I saved this for last, to me, that's what being a man

[44:43] is about. It's not about showing how tough we are or how vulgar we can be or how strong we can be. It's showing that we will stand up for manhood and for what manhood traditionally meant. taking care of our families, being concerned about our communities, not in some abstract sense, in the actually going out and taking care of people way.

[45:20] going to a community meeting and seeing what needs to be done and then organizing a group to actually do them. To man a soup kitchen, to clean up graffiti, to patrol the streets so women do not have to be afraid if they're walking home after dark. These these are the things that men do. And when we wear a tie, whether it's a bow tie, a foreign hand tie, an ascot, a bolo tie like you see with western wear,

[45:59] or any other kind of tie. And there are others. I assure you, we connect ourselves to that tradition and to that imperative for manhood. And to my mind, that is the most important reason why I would urge you to consider wearing a tie. So, I'm this close to convincing my nephew. I I I don't know if he's watching because you this is usually his drive home time. Uh but Matthew, if you're watching this, I'm I'm waiting for you to say, you know, Uncle Kev, I'm ready. So, um but

[46:37] in any event, that's why I I encourage men to wear ties and I encourage women to say to your men, I'd really love it if you'd wear a tie. So, there you have it. So, my cocktail glass is empty, but this scoop is kind of small, so I have more waiting for me in the mixing glass after the show is done. Thank you very much for joining me and letting me talk to you about one of the things in my life that's probably silly by any standards, but uh you know something

[47:14] that I have passion for. I wish you a wonderful rest of the afternoon or evening, a wonderful rest of the week. I hope you have, as I said at the beginning, a restorative weekend. have some time with family and friends. Get outside, get some exercise, have some great food, maybe you'll have another cocktail. And it only leaves for me to sign off. My my Marie, and I don't usually say much about her other than that she's that she

[47:49] the place, you know, or that that that what she is to me. So Marie was a southern bell of the First Order and her men wore ties. Every time I went to visit Marie, I had a tie on, usually a suit as well. Um because I wanted her to know how much I loved how much I loved and respected her. And so, Marie, you are my bell for so many reasons, including that you inspired me to be the best version of myself.

[48:25] Courage at all times, my friends.