While in England, Bob discovered authentic regimental striped silk neckties for sale. He had always loved striped ties, but few were available in the US. In the past a single company had produced a few well established regimental striped ties, but they were no longer available, and the common style of neckwear was bold prints. Bob decided to bring authentic English stripes to America. Within a very short time, he had learned where to buy the silk, where to contract to cut the silk into neckties, and how to make the finest quality for the handsewn tie. He had decided on the dimensions of the tie, the lining of the tie, and come up with a branding of the tie, with proper labels, and a new catalog just for authentic English regimental ties. Within two years, he had located a historic collection of stripes, shelved during the Second World War, and recreated them. The Ben Silver regimental striped tie became renowned.

The company was now located in Charleston South Carolina – another adventurous and creative move, provoking questions from family and friends initially – (Where are you going? North Carolina? Why are you going? Later when people asked “How did you get to South Carolina?” Bob would reply “On the interstate.”) A building had been purchased as the location for the company, and it had an excellent retail space on the main thoroughfare, King Street, which, in 1983 was deserted. Bob saw the potential for the street at a time when most locals had given up and retail had moved to malls in the suburbs. But it was a time of change, and Joe Riley was Mayor, with a vision of Charleston’s potential; so we opened a small retail space, hired a cabinet maker to produce a showcase for the buttons, hired a sign maker to paint a large sign across the front of the building, and hoped that local customers would come, since Charleston was not yet a tourist attraction. Until they did, there was the mail order catalog. One day a customer asked why we did not sell blazers, since we sold blazer buttons. On another day a customer asked why we didn’t sell shirts, since we sold ties.

And so in short shrift, we learned how to sell shirts and blazers, and then, dissatisfied with suppliers, wanting better quality, Bob learned to buy shirting fabric, blazer fabric, and where to contract these products, and what specifications he would find satisfactory.