Reginald Ferguson [00:00:01]: Hello, I'm Reg. Tiff [00:00:02]: And I'm TIFF. And we're the Fashion Geeks, trying to make New York and the world. Reginald Ferguson [00:00:06]: Well, New York is the world. Tiff [00:00:07]: A little flyer, one outfit and podcast at a time. Reginald Ferguson [00:00:14]: Welcome back, everybody. If it's your first time, welcome to the ride. We are the fashion geeks. Tiff [00:00:19]: Yes, we are. Reginald Ferguson [00:00:20]: I am your host, Reg. Tiff [00:00:22]: And I am TIFF. Reginald Ferguson [00:00:24]: She's fashion number two. I'm fashion geek number one. Tiff [00:00:26]: Number two. Reginald Ferguson [00:00:27]: Yep. You're the deuce. Tiff [00:00:29]: I like that. Oh, my God, I love that. Reginald Ferguson [00:00:31]: I'm glad that you do. We'll call you Tiffany. The Two. Tiff [00:00:35]: The Deuce. I never had a nickname. That's nice. Reginald Ferguson [00:00:38]: I like that. Oh, well, isn't TIFF your nickname? Tiff [00:00:42]: Yeah, I guess you're right. That's kind of boring. I like the deuce. Reginald Ferguson [00:00:45]: All right. TIFF the deuce. That's weird. Tiff [00:00:50]: It is kind of, isn't it? Reginald Ferguson [00:00:51]: It's cute, but it's weird. Tiff [00:00:52]: All right, we'll just do that for just this episode. Reginald Ferguson [00:00:54]: That's not a problem. Tiff [00:00:55]: And then we'll move on to a new one. Reginald Ferguson [00:00:56]: Sure, if you want. We will do a new one every episode. Tiff [00:00:59]: I'm an amoeba. Change with the episodes. Reginald Ferguson [00:01:02]: All right. Tiff [00:01:03]: Get it? Amoeba. Reginald Ferguson [00:01:04]: Yes. Chemistry is the studio. Tiff [00:01:06]: I was a nerd. Yes. We are all here in this petri dish together. Reginald Ferguson [00:01:11]: Yipes. Tiff [00:01:14]: I don't know how we went so far off. Fellow fashion germs, we are the Fashion Geeks. Reginald Ferguson [00:01:19]: We are here to help you become a better version of yourself. I am Reginald Ferguson. I am the founder of New York Fashion Geek. New York fashion geek is a style consultancy. We help out men, become the best that they can be. We start with closet inventory all the way down to personal shopping and everything in between. Consider me a personal trainer for fashion. Tiff [00:01:45]: Brilliant. Make them work. Reginald Ferguson [00:01:46]: Thank you. Tiff [00:01:47]: Work it out. Reginald Ferguson [00:01:47]: We're going to work on shirts. We're going to work on suits. We're going to work on accessories. Tiff [00:01:52]: Head, toe. Reginald Ferguson [00:01:53]: Exactly. Tiff [00:01:54]: Head to toe. Reginald Ferguson [00:01:55]: Exactly. Just like front to back gym. Tiff [00:01:57]: Love it. I wish I was a guy. Reginald Ferguson [00:02:00]: No, you don't. Tiff [00:02:01]: I do. Well, because you look good. You always look good. Reginald Ferguson [00:02:05]: I appreciate it. Tiff [00:02:06]: I see you're rocking the purple today. Reginald Ferguson [00:02:08]: Yeah, purple makes me think for Prince. Tiff [00:02:12]: Makes me think of Prince every single time. Reginald Ferguson [00:02:14]: Well, I appreciate that. We know the influence. So we talked about that. He was our first fashion hero, but it seemed to go right with the suit. Tiff [00:02:23]: It does. Reginald Ferguson [00:02:24]: I'm san's tie again. Tiff [00:02:25]: But you got a pocket square. Reginald Ferguson [00:02:27]: Yes, I do. Tiff [00:02:27]: Always have a pocket square if you don't have a tie. Reginald Ferguson [00:02:29]: Rocking the orange sherbert. Tiff [00:02:32]: OOH. Yeah, purple and orange. Reginald Ferguson [00:02:34]: Well, with the brown window pane. Tiff [00:02:36]: Very nice. Very nice. Reginald Ferguson [00:02:37]: I appreciate that. Tiff [00:02:38]: You look good. Reginald Ferguson [00:02:39]: I feel good. Tiff [00:02:40]: All right. So do I. Reginald Ferguson [00:02:41]: Good. You got the cow neck going on. Tiff [00:02:44]: I do. Fashionable. I'm doing the dark charcoal. Charcoal with the black leggings. I love this time of year because I wear leggings and my tall boots all the time. That's my uniform. Oh, I didn't realize one, because I'm starting to put on weight. So the leggings have that stretch. Tiff [00:03:02]: I can fit them no matter what. Reginald Ferguson [00:03:04]: That's good. Tiff [00:03:05]: And then this long cow neck sweater. It's like a little shirt dress, kind of covers up the belly. Reginald Ferguson [00:03:10]: Wow. Tiff [00:03:11]: Yeah. That's my fashion trick. You got to have a fashion trick. Reginald Ferguson [00:03:14]: Absolutely. Tiff [00:03:15]: Everybody's got to have a fashion trick. Reginald Ferguson [00:03:16]: Sure. I mean, more than one, if you can. Tiff [00:03:19]: Well, this is my mainstay, because also it's warm, but it's also loosey goosey, and I can eat whatever I want. And it doesn't hurt. Reginald Ferguson [00:03:30]: You're not hurting anybody in those leggings? Tiff [00:03:33]: No. And the tall boots, it's kind of sexy. Reginald Ferguson [00:03:35]: There you go. Tiff [00:03:36]: Right. I look in the mirror and I go, damn, I look sexy. Reginald Ferguson [00:03:40]: Now, the question is, does your husband also echo the sentiment? Tiff [00:03:43]: Because he does. He just wants to wait and tell me later. All right, so it's been a good, what, couple of weeks? Reginald Ferguson [00:03:54]: It's been a minute. Tiff [00:03:55]: Yeah. Reginald Ferguson [00:03:55]: But we're back. Tiff [00:03:57]: So you've been up to some things. Well, first of all, we've all been up to something, and I just want to do a quick shout out and a quick props to all of you. Over 100 million oh, 1 million. Reginald Ferguson [00:04:09]: 1 million, I believe. Tiff [00:04:10]: 1 million people who went out and voted. Yes. Reginald Ferguson [00:04:13]: Absolutely. Tiff [00:04:14]: What do you got to say about that? Reginald Ferguson [00:04:15]: Rich is what you should always do, right. Tiff [00:04:19]: Voting is always fashionable. Reginald Ferguson [00:04:20]: Absolutely. So if you saw on my Insta New York fashion geek I went out there in the rain. Tiff [00:04:29]: Good job. It was pissing down rain here. Reginald Ferguson [00:04:32]: It's a civic duty. I've always felt it was important. Tiff [00:04:35]: Did you wear your Burberry coat? Reginald Ferguson [00:04:36]: Well, if you saw the post it's a rhetorical question. Tiff [00:04:39]: Well, of course you wore your Burberry coat, but we got to talk about it. For those who didn't see your post, your post is on Instagram, which is. Reginald Ferguson [00:04:46]: At New York Fashion Geek. Tiff [00:04:48]: All right. Reginald Ferguson [00:04:48]: Just want to repeat that again. Tiff [00:04:50]: Repetition, people learn what the repetition there's joy and repetition. Yes. Reginald Ferguson [00:04:54]: So it was coming down. I tried to dodge the raindrops, but I was like, you know what? This is what a trench coat is for. And yes, I was rocking the burberry. Tiff [00:05:04]: Good job. Good job. I applaud thank you. I applaud your fashion voting. Reginald Ferguson [00:05:10]: I'm on that line for a while. Tiff [00:05:12]: Though, to tell you. Really? That's good. That's good. Reginald Ferguson [00:05:15]: No, that's not good. Tiff [00:05:16]: That's a good line. Reginald Ferguson [00:05:17]: No, it's a good line in principle, but in practice, we need more scanners. Tiff [00:05:22]: That's true. There is that. Reginald Ferguson [00:05:23]: Our scanners didn't break down, though, because I heard that was really a major issue. Tiff [00:05:26]: Yeah, it happened in one of the district that I used to work in. Their scanners broke down. Reginald Ferguson [00:05:31]: We had five scanners and hundreds of people. Tiff [00:05:34]: Good God. Reginald Ferguson [00:05:35]: My friend Jared Gooding. Big shout out to Jared Gooding, a friend at Nyfg, creator of Please Space he went at 430 and took a photo of it, and he could have thrown multiple Bowen balls down the lane. Tiff [00:05:50]: Oh, he got there early. Reginald Ferguson [00:05:52]: No, he got there late. He was smart. 430 in the afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Tiff [00:05:56]: That's late. Reginald Ferguson [00:05:57]: Yeah, well, I mean, the polls close at, what, nine? At nine. But he was smart is my point. Tiff [00:06:03]: He went between the morning rush and the evening rush. Reginald Ferguson [00:06:06]: I went at 1130. Thought I was doing something. Yeah, no, I got caught out there. Tiff [00:06:12]: But I went at eight. Reginald Ferguson [00:06:14]: Best way. Tiff [00:06:14]: Oh, I went at eight and there was still I still had to wait after there was only two or three people, that's all. That's it? Reginald Ferguson [00:06:22]: No, I had hundreds. Tiff [00:06:23]: I was way out in Queens, not. Reginald Ferguson [00:06:26]: Exactly in the boonies. Tiff [00:06:27]: So yeah, I just wanted to say congratulations to everyone who made it out and voted. You did it. Reginald Ferguson [00:06:33]: It's important. Tiff [00:06:34]: Yeah. So let's talk about what you and I have been up to lately. So, fashion wise. Reginald Ferguson [00:06:41]: Yes. Tiff [00:06:44]: There was not a sale thing, but thing going on about what am I thinking about sample sales. Reginald Ferguson [00:06:53]: Yes, there's always a sample sale. Tiff [00:06:56]: So how much do you want to tell us about any sample sales that you went to this go around? Reginald Ferguson [00:07:01]: I could tell you enough that if I go to a sample sale, it is for two reasons. One is to learn about a brand, because maybe a brand I don't know very well, and I have to be as brand relevant to my clients as possible. I'm a shirt and tie guy. There's no question, though, again, I am sans cravat today, open collar with the dress shirt. But it doesn't mean that my clientele represents that. So going to sample sales is really just a good way for me to remain or become educated on a brand. Tiff [00:07:32]: Well, you told me a little bit about one that you went to that you were doing Christmas shopping already. Reginald Ferguson [00:07:37]: Oh, yes, that's right. Well, it's November. It's not like I'm that early. Tiff [00:07:42]: I know. For most people that's true, but I wait until, like, the week before. No, that's when the sales are happening. Reginald Ferguson [00:07:48]: I can't deal with that. Tiff [00:07:49]: Yeah. No, okay. Reginald Ferguson [00:07:51]: If I'm going to a sample sale, as you said, and of course I can't give you the name of the sample sale, ladies and gentlemen. Tiff [00:07:57]: You got to pay for that. Reginald Ferguson [00:07:58]: Yeah, absolutely. But, yeah, I went I bought some gifts. They were a great deal. Matter of fact, I know that sample sale is actually going to repeat again for the Christmas rush, but I was like, no, I'm doing it now. I was in the area. I was ten blocks away. Tiff [00:08:13]: Why not? Reginald Ferguson [00:08:14]: Went down, got some good deals. Tiff [00:08:16]: Because when you have the knowledge, knowledge is power. That's correct. Reginald Ferguson [00:08:20]: And I'm all about a deal. Tiff [00:08:22]: Well, I wasn't doing anything, but sort of kind of chilling and relaxing with all my travel that I've been doing recently? Reginald Ferguson [00:08:29]: Oh, the Carmen San Diego part of the show. Where have you been? This? Tiff [00:08:33]: I just we had an early Thanksgiving with my husband's family right outside of Boston. Reginald Ferguson [00:08:38]: That's very early, if we're only talking. Tiff [00:08:41]: First weekend in November early. So I've already had my turkey and dressing fill, and I still have another two rounds to go. Reginald Ferguson [00:08:48]: Is your tree up, too? Just based on this timing, what have we missed? Tiff [00:08:52]: Oh, no, this tree does not go up before the week before. Okay. I never heard too many pine needles. I can't deal. Reginald Ferguson [00:09:00]: I never heard anyone pregame Thanksgiving. Tiff [00:09:02]: Well, that's what happened. And it was fun. It was. A lot of us crammed into what would be a normally sizable house, but with ten people, it gets a little tight. Ten people and two bunny rabits. Reginald Ferguson [00:09:15]: Jesus could not be there, sir. Tiff [00:09:17]: Two of the cutest little bunny rabbits that were running all over the living room. So cute. Reginald Ferguson [00:09:22]: What? Tiff [00:09:22]: Yeah. But we also did some movie watching, and I know that our producer, Search, if you listen to our last episode, was our guest talking about Polo Ralph Lauren. Reginald Ferguson [00:09:33]: Yes, he was. Tiff [00:09:34]: And after the this is a little after the episode after the episode happenings, both Search and Reg started going through dialogue from a movie. I'm talking about word for word dialogue. This has got to be a man thing. And the movie was Trading Places. Reginald Ferguson [00:09:52]: Yes. Tiff [00:09:53]: Something that I have yet to see, believe it or not. Reginald Ferguson [00:09:55]: What? Tiff [00:09:56]: Because I spent my twenty s and thirty s working every single day of the week. I had no time for movies. Reginald Ferguson [00:10:03]: Oh, my God. Tiff [00:10:04]: Yeah, really? And I told my husband about y'all's back and forth, and I'm like, who is this? And who's Mortimer? And who is Duke? Reginald Ferguson [00:10:11]: And Duke actually, let's break this down. Search had on Duke and Duke paraphernalia. Yes, that's how that all started. Tiff [00:10:22]: And I was like, who's. Duke? And Duke? What is this? And then they started riffing with the music. I mean, with the movie. And I'm like, I have no idea. And then Reg was like, you have got to see this movie. And then I told my husband, I have got to see this movie. And my husband started going through the dialogue of the movie, and I'm like, It's a classic. But we didn't see the movie. Reginald Ferguson [00:10:44]: What? Tiff [00:10:47]: Why not? Well, because in my Netflix browse for it, I found another movie. I'm like OOH. Action adventure. Let's do that instead. So we chose a different movie. Reginald Ferguson [00:10:58]: What movie was it? Tiff [00:10:59]: Netflix's. Outlaw King with Chris Pine. Yes. Reginald Ferguson [00:11:04]: That's always going to be there. Trading Places. Action and adventure. Tiff [00:11:10]: Well, I thought it was a comedy. Reginald Ferguson [00:11:13]: It is, but it's all these other things, too. Tiff [00:11:16]: This is really it's on my list. It's on the top of my list now. That it was that medieval thing. I do costumes, did costumes from that time period. Reginald Ferguson [00:11:26]: It's going to be there forever. It just launched. Tiff [00:11:28]: And can I talk about the costumes in this movie? Reginald Ferguson [00:11:30]: Sure. Chain mail. Tiff [00:11:32]: Wow. It's some of the nicest chain mail I've ever seen done. The riveting and the chain mill is amazing. Reginald Ferguson [00:11:39]: Really? Tiff [00:11:40]: Oh, my God. It's beautiful. And you can see in all of the stitching of the garments as well. It's hand done. It's hand stitching. Like the shoulder seams are hand stitched. It's real stuff. The costumer on this movie, which I failed to get their name in the credits because you could have slowed them down. Tiff [00:11:59]: We were drinking a little bit, and we were done at the end of the movie, but I will research that. It was beautiful. They nailed it. The medieval look was amazing. Reginald Ferguson [00:12:09]: Beyond that did you like the movie? Tiff [00:12:11]: I did like the movie. I thought they were trying to cram a lot in a little bit of time. And the director's cut might be a better movie. I feel like they cut some stuff out that some things didn't move from scene to scene like they should have. Reginald Ferguson [00:12:28]: That's a true story, by the way. Tiff [00:12:29]: It is. Reginald Ferguson [00:12:30]: It is. Tiff [00:12:31]: You know that for a fact? Reginald Ferguson [00:12:32]: I do. Tiff [00:12:33]: Dang. I'm on it. I was right. Nice. Yeah, it felt like it. Yeah. Some parts of the movie were kind of like and then it's like, oh, we're missing something here and there. But for the most part, I enjoyed it. Reginald Ferguson [00:12:47]: You would have enjoyed trading places better. Tiff [00:12:49]: Okay. It's on my list next weekend. I promise. I will report. Reginald Ferguson [00:12:53]: Sure. It's a great holiday movie, too, when you think about it. Tiff [00:12:55]: Well, you just saw a movie. You saw Amazing Grace. Reginald Ferguson [00:12:58]: Well, yes, I did. I couldn't even surprise our listeners. Tiff [00:13:02]: Oh, I'm sorry. Did I mess that up? Reginald Ferguson [00:13:04]: My yes. I was fortunate enough and I'm really getting emotional. I was fortunate enough to attend the premiere of Amazing Grace, rita Franklin documentary of bless her soul of the epic album. I'm literally getting goosebumps. It means a whole lot to me to have seen that and have been fortunate to have been invited to that. I want to thank House of Hortendorf for inviting me, but in light of my mom's passing, that was a really important album in my family and in my house. Matter of fact, I was asked yesterday, did I actually have the album? I don't. That was my mom's album, but I listen to that album all the time. Reginald Ferguson [00:13:54]: Album means a lot to me, and I'm really here to tell everybody I found the movie to be transformative. Tiff [00:14:00]: Wow. Reginald Ferguson [00:14:01]: The history behind it, if you know anything, is quite interesting. I wouldn't claim to know everything about it. But first of all, Amazing Grace is one of the top selling gospel albums of all time. Over 2 million sold. It was shot out in Los Angeles at the late Reverend James Cleveland's Church with the Southern Community Choir. Tiff [00:14:25]: That was in 1972, right? Reginald Ferguson [00:14:27]: 72, I believe. Tiff [00:14:28]: Yes, that's when it was shot? Reginald Ferguson [00:14:30]: Yes. Directed by a name. If you're in the film interest game, you'll know Stanley Pollock. But what we didn't know and I was very fortunate, I saw it the first night and they had a Q and A with some of the executive producers. And one his name escapes me. He's been involved in the project since, I think, the 90s because he worked for the late Jerry Wexler. And I've known bits and pieces about the movie. I've just heard, oh, there's a movie. Tiff [00:15:04]: Right. Reginald Ferguson [00:15:04]: And it won't ever be coming out. Tiff [00:15:07]: Because right. Reginald Ferguson [00:15:09]: She Said no is dead set against it. Has sued. They were going to air it at Telluride a few years ago, and we don't know why. Well, actually, do we? Actually, I do. The reason why I think this thing was so contentious is because, first of all, that was Stanley Pollock's first movie. Tiff [00:15:29]: Really? Reginald Ferguson [00:15:29]: He kind of cut his way in, jumped over another person who was a noted documentarian I'm drawing a blank on his name, got the gig and proceeded to mess up. He didn't use a technology called clapboards. Essentially, the sound has to be in sync with the picture. And they forget. Tiff [00:15:51]: They forgot. Reginald Ferguson [00:15:52]: They forgot to utilize this basic, common piece of technology. And I'm not trying to say that in a condescend, obnoxious way. I am a movie fan. That's it. They forgot. Tiff [00:16:06]: So it just wasn't synced. And Laritha was not happy with that. Reginald Ferguson [00:16:10]: It was not synced. Mics were going on and off throughout the recording, but the album was the album is the album, but the album is the album. But this is the movie. And, matter of fact, this director. Tiff [00:16:24]: So they didn't take the music from the movie and make the album. The album was two different recordings, two different source mediums. Reginald Ferguson [00:16:32]: As he recounted, the late Jerry Wexler said, we got the movie. Right. So it was like that. It was a pissing contest. Tiff [00:16:41]: Yeah. A little bit of shade. Reginald Ferguson [00:16:42]: So they had this footage for decades. Pollock constantly made excuses. Matter of fact, the next movie he was about to make, Old School the Way We Were, that was his next movie. Tiff [00:16:55]: Wow. Reginald Ferguson [00:16:56]: And the way I'm listening to the Q A, he's lucky that he had a storied career because this thing could have botched him up. So it was like the thing that no one wanted to talk about because they couldn't get the sound together. Tiff [00:17:14]: So was the sound together in the preview last? Reginald Ferguson [00:17:16]: Well, here's the beauty of it. Matter of fact, I didn't post it on Nyfg. I did post it on my social media. Is a great article in Popular Mechanics and essentially the beauty of technology, 70s. They tried to work with it. The musical director, who you'll see, his name is Alexander Hamilton. He tried to aid in the sink. Tiff [00:17:39]: Okay. Reginald Ferguson [00:17:40]: And they were putting money to it, but it was just so laborious. And then they stopped. It was a lot of finger pointing, the 90s, they tried to do something, but really everything we're talking about is pre Avid, pre Pro Tools. And now, just a few years ago, they were able to digitize everything, sync everything up. So literally, Time odly Enough has played in their favor all these decades. Tiff [00:18:07]: And now that Aretha Franklin has passed. Reginald Ferguson [00:18:09]: The executor of the estate, drawing a blank on her name, she was part of the lawsuit a few years ago. Tiff [00:18:15]: Because she's a niece and she wanted it. Reginald Ferguson [00:18:23]: Also, what I've heard is that, again, who knows? These people are gone. I think probably just from an artistic standpoint, aretha was like, I want to be at my best. I can't be at my best. Why is it? Also, though, I heard that she had concerns about how her late father, the Reverend C. L. Franklin, was portrayed. But I am here to tell you, what I saw just knocked me over. Tiff [00:18:50]: He raised the roof, from what I read. Reginald Ferguson [00:18:52]: Yeah, I had always read about him, but such an amazing, charismatic pastor, and I was just overwhelmed. An OD segue, probably to all, but not really. And sharp as attack surge. Blue single breasted suit. Tiff [00:19:14]: Oh, my God, I will see the. Reginald Ferguson [00:19:15]: Movie just for that tie. Yo. Tiff [00:19:18]: He was killadilla fashionable fly as Beep. Reginald Ferguson [00:19:26]: I mean, wow. But then also just so eloquent nice. I mean, I was really moved by him. Tiff [00:19:34]: He was probably glowing. Reginald Ferguson [00:19:35]: Yeah. Tiff [00:19:36]: When you combine eloquence with Flyness, you glow. You vibrate at a higher level. Reginald Ferguson [00:19:43]: The movie vibrates at a higher level. Tiff [00:19:45]: Wow. I can't wait to see it. Reginald Ferguson [00:19:46]: And obviously this is all about catching up and people will go, what does this have to do with what we do here? Tiff [00:19:52]: Well, I was about ready to say I'm quite impressed with your knowledge of technology on top of your fashion sense, like you're a real Renaissance man. Reginald Ferguson [00:20:00]: I don't know about all that, but you are. I want to talk about that era because, TIFF, you and I were talking prior to the podcast. Sometimes TIFF and I like to meet Tiffany and have libations and snacks. Tiff [00:20:15]: Just a little sippy sip before we. Reginald Ferguson [00:20:17]: Get our podcast on. The 70s sometimes has given it, I think, a very hard time from a fashionable standpoint. Tiff [00:20:24]: Well, it was I don't think that's fair, though. Challenging, to say the least, but I. Reginald Ferguson [00:20:30]: Don'T think that's fair. The one thing I want to talk about that ties into everything that we do here on the podcast is Aretha. This was the time that she decided, I'm going all natural. And that was the era of that. I mean, James Brown was doing the same thing. So she's resplendent in an Afro y'all. Tiff [00:20:51]: Nice, which is a halo. Reginald Ferguson [00:20:54]: I mean, it really was, because not giving the movie away. She's angelic in the opening and just simmering. And I mean, she's also sweating. It's a summer, I believe, and even if it's not. Tiff [00:21:05]: It's just Los Angeles. Reginald Ferguson [00:21:07]: It's in the church. Tiff [00:21:08]: It was a very hot day. Reginald Ferguson [00:21:10]: It looks like it. It looks like it. But she was emblematic of the time for us as African Americans, famous recording artists. Again, to reiterate, James Brown, everyone was letting I mean, look at the parallel between them. They were letting their relaxer go, and they were letting their fro up, and that was really significant for us in terms of black power, black consciousness. Say it loud. I'm black and I'm proud. And her coming just in the simple regalia, but yet the queen. Reginald Ferguson [00:21:43]: And that really touched me. It's also just great panning to the audience and just seeing them also be emblematic at that time. But I'm telling you, Reverend CL Franklin, look at that suit, y'all, and go see that movie. It's the truth. Tiff [00:21:57]: Can I just put in that the 70s was also the huge rise of the polyester suit. Reginald Ferguson [00:22:02]: I was going to say. I mean, the whole thing is about synthetics. When you talk about the know that I just didn't want to say that. Tiff [00:22:07]: And of course, that's what's problematic for me. Reginald Ferguson [00:22:09]: I feel like it's been given a hard time. Tiff [00:22:12]: Yes. Reginald Ferguson [00:22:12]: What are you going to do? Tiff [00:22:13]: And the browns and the oranges and the yellows and that green dashikis were 100% cotton, y'all. That's all I'm saying. All right, well, good catching up with you and what you've been doing, but I think it's time to move it on because we have a new segment to announce today. Reginald Ferguson [00:22:32]: We do? Tiff [00:22:32]: Yes, we do. Reginald Ferguson [00:22:33]: I heard we're not doing fashion heroes today. Tiff [00:22:36]: We're going to put fashion heroes to bed for a minute. Just a minute. Because we have a friend who wants us to take part. We have somebody who's interested in enjoying us. So we have a new segment. It's a guest segment, and it's called so what do you do? Reginald Ferguson [00:22:59]: So what do you what do you do? Tiff [00:23:08]: That's our guest segment and our guest for today. Should I announce? Reginald Ferguson [00:23:12]: Yeah, you keep on. Tiff [00:23:13]: I love it. His name is Abdul Fatah Ismail. Welcome. Reginald Ferguson [00:23:20]: Thank you for having me. Tiff [00:23:21]: Did I say it right? Reginald Ferguson [00:23:23]: You were there. You got it. Tiff [00:23:24]: Did I get it? Because like I said when we first met, I'm from the south, and we kind of add some syllables, extra syllables and words. Reginald Ferguson [00:23:31]: Syllabus slabbies. Tiff [00:23:33]: Yeah. We have dip thongs, essentially. Reginald Ferguson [00:23:35]: Are we saying that you're not catching a lot of Muslim names and African names down in NC? Is that what you're saying? Tiff [00:23:41]: Where I grew up? No. Well, there you go. Reginald Ferguson [00:23:45]: I was flat. No, too. Tiff [00:23:46]: Yeah. Well, welcome to our show. Reginald Ferguson [00:23:50]: Thank you for having me. Yeah. Abdul, I mean, I want to be clear. Abdul and I are friends and really happy to have you be the first guest on. So what do you do? Yay streams. Tiff [00:24:07]: I'm going to say a little bit. You're a creative writer. Reginald Ferguson [00:24:09]: Yes. Tiff [00:24:10]: You're a poet. Reginald Ferguson [00:24:11]: Yes. Tiff [00:24:11]: A sociopolitical commentator. Reginald Ferguson [00:24:13]: Yes. Tiff [00:24:14]: You're all of that. Yes, but that's what I say. Reginald Ferguson [00:24:18]: But he's also fly. Tiff [00:24:20]: But you're also fly, which is why you're here. Reginald Ferguson [00:24:23]: Love his steez. We're going to have to talk about that. Tiff [00:24:25]: Well, first of all, before we do so that's what I say. Who you are? Who are you? Reginald Ferguson [00:24:30]: Who am I? My name is Abdul Fataya Smile. And what I do is spoken word art. With poetry book I have out called extended syllables. You can check me out. Extended syllables.com. And what I do with it, I produce these interactive readings around town and I've spread out a little bit nationwide. What I do is I'll pair with the musician or DJ who will transcribe my words into sound. I grew up a music geek, along with a fashion geek, a fellow geek. Reginald Ferguson [00:24:59]: Yeah. Welcome an absorber of information and sound and words. So I think when I started to take on this project and make into a product, I said, well, how am I going to promote it? And I said, Well, I do know all these musicians, I do know all these DJs, and I do know all these spaces that work with collaborators like us. And I said, you know what, maybe I'll do it this way, have them pair with me, kind of have it like a little structured improv. So that's kind of what I do. Tiff [00:25:28]: So you take your poetry and in your fly ass self, you stand there with musicians yes. And you speak that poetry as they're improvising their jazz music, is what I so I've listened to a couple of your sessions, your highlights on your website, and it's sort of like the musicians and you sort of feel when it's time to speak and when it's time to play and when it's time to do both. And it is totally improv. I used to be an actress, I know exactly what you're talking about. And I felt it too. I felt that it's spontaneous in a way. But your words are already it's poetry that you've already written. Yes, but it's expressed in a new improvisational way. Reginald Ferguson [00:26:13]: Yeah. Tiff [00:26:14]: Which changes it from performance to performance. Reginald Ferguson [00:26:17]: Yeah. And I think that's what I was going after when I started to even imagine the concept and flesh it out was like, well, people aren't going to have all the backing of my experience through these words, but I'll give them like a platform to start of and then they can bring their experience to it. So it's almost rooted in some call response tradition, in a sense, where I'm calling this, how are you going to respond? Tiff [00:26:39]: So the musicians have read your poetry prior to yes, brilliant. Reginald Ferguson [00:26:43]: And sometimes they don't. They literally just finesse off of what I'm going to say. Tiff [00:26:48]: And I'll even give that's true jazz in a way. Right. That's like tenets of jazz. You just go with the flow. Reginald Ferguson [00:26:55]: Yeah. You just kind of give them a little tip. Like I might think this is kind of a moody piece. You could go for a blue tone or they seem to respond to color more so especially like live musicians okay. Where like DJs will kind of just bounce off of like a word and then play an instrumental or two or maybe blend in a couple, depending on the set. Tiff [00:27:11]: Okay. Reginald Ferguson [00:27:12]: Yeah. Tiff [00:27:13]: So I have another question for you. Reginald Ferguson [00:27:15]: Shoot. Tiff [00:27:15]: How did you get into this? How did this start? Reginald Ferguson [00:27:20]: I guess the start I know you guys got time. You got time? Cuz we got time to our producers as we started writing poetry in high school, way back in the was when I took a creative writing class. At that time I was in high school doing editing for entertainment section. So I would go to college doing editing for an entertainment section for my school newspaper. Tiff [00:27:44]: Okay. Reginald Ferguson [00:27:44]: So kind of as a counterpoint, my publisher recommended me taking the creative writing course to kind of just get some ideas out from a creative standpoint when I'm not editing. Tiff [00:27:54]: So you worked on the school newspaper, that's when you started your writing? Reginald Ferguson [00:27:57]: Yeah, so I did both at the same time. So I started writing the poetry and I was doing also the school newspaper editing too, so it kind of funneled through that. And then as time passed, you go to college, you relocate. I relocated here from Indiana originally and so I just kept writing and writing in journals. And it wasn't until maybe the late 2000s where I felt, okay, I can put these onto platforms like blogspot, and I wasn't worried about anybody reading them. I just didn't want to forget that they existed. So that's one thing where technology can be valuable, although it's in the world. And I wasn't even thinking about it being in a public space or in the domain of the internet. Reginald Ferguson [00:28:35]: I'm just like, well, I can throw away anything that I don't need from a paper standpoint where I would hold on to stuff. I'm a little bit of hoarder with. Tiff [00:28:45]: That, but it's out in cyberspace, so you don't have to get a bigger apartment to hoard with that. Reginald Ferguson [00:28:50]: Yeah, I didn't have to be like some guys with their LPs, they'll get an apartment just to have the room to store their records. Tiff [00:29:00]: And we're on polo clothing. Reginald Ferguson [00:29:02]: Maybe polo clothing too. Any kind of article that takes up value time. And I think the internet then kind of made it a second hub where, yes, you can hold it from a tactile standpoint, but then you can also put it online. Tiff [00:29:20]: Nice. Reginald Ferguson [00:29:21]: And then save your space. Tiff [00:29:22]: And it's there forever, right? For everyone to get ever. Forever and ever and ever. So you said you're from Indiana? I did a little research. And you're from a small town in Indiana, right? Reginald Ferguson [00:29:34]: Not tiny, I guess it's small compared to any major city you know about in the. Oh, yeah. Tiff [00:29:40]: South Bend. Okay. Reginald Ferguson [00:29:41]: Yeah. Tiff [00:29:41]: It's the home of and your parents are first generation immigrants. Reginald Ferguson [00:29:44]: Yes. Tiff [00:29:45]: And what was interesting to me about your story is that you're from Sierra Leone. Is that how you say Sierra Leone? And you were among many, several people who were immigrated from Sierra Leone, and you would get together periodically as a community to sort of continue to experience the community sense from back in Sierra Leone. Reginald Ferguson [00:30:10]: Right. Tiff [00:30:10]: Did that include music and art and poetry? Reginald Ferguson [00:30:15]: Yeah. Tiff [00:30:16]: Is that where you got your inspiration from? Reginald Ferguson [00:30:17]: Yeah, you could say that. I mean, I think growing up as a kid, my dad, he's a chemist by trade. Tiff [00:30:23]: Your father's a chemist? Reginald Ferguson [00:30:25]: Yeah. I love it. Tiff [00:30:26]: That was one of my favorite subjects in school, right. Until you realize, what can I do with chemistry major? Reginald Ferguson [00:30:32]: And it's like, yeah, aside from doing laboratory work, if you don't want to be in a lab, then you're not going to go far. But then you got to get past certain levels of chemistry to advance and then become a master at it, and then PhD and so forth, and you're like, no, I can't do it. And then you quit. Tiff [00:30:49]: That sounds like my story. Reginald Ferguson [00:30:50]: But he was also a record collector. Like, he had everything, and he'd always have these old tapes of serial music, like boo boo music and other kind of jive music, and it'd just be percussions and jazz artists. So I'd become that kind of geek where he had everything in crates, and I'd go in the basement and listen, everything with the headphones. Tiff [00:31:13]: Awesome. Reginald Ferguson [00:31:14]: For hours and hours. And then I didn't really write about the music until, I think, later, as I became more of, like, a teenager and adult and so forth, but just listening. So I would just listen and just kind of get into my space and let my imagination run wild with it. Tiff [00:31:31]: Awesome. And I can imagine that sort of triggered your own poetry, because music is poetry. Reginald Ferguson [00:31:36]: It is? Tiff [00:31:37]: Yeah. Not only in the words, but also in the instruments and how they play with each other. That's poetry. Poetry and sound. Reginald Ferguson [00:31:44]: Right. It's all movement. It's all sound waves. Tiff [00:31:47]: That it is to be scientific awesome. So I have a funny little question here from where you grew up. Reginald Ferguson [00:31:57]: South Bend. Tiff [00:31:58]: South Bend. Reginald Ferguson [00:31:59]: Fighting Irish. Touchdown Jesus. Tiff [00:32:02]: So where do you see yourself in terms of what you wanted to be when you grew up? Reginald Ferguson [00:32:07]: You mean reflecting to that time or now? Tiff [00:32:11]: Well, where do you see yourself now as to what you thought you wanted to be? Are you what you wanted to be when you grew up? Could you imagine this, or is this something that you came into? Yeah, it kind of organic. Reginald Ferguson [00:32:26]: I fell into it organically, and I think at that time, I'm looking back at who I was at that era, I thought I would have just been like every other son of african immigrants. You go to law school or the government, which I did touch upon. Over time, I fell into advertising. Now it's my day job. Tiff [00:32:43]: Really? Reginald Ferguson [00:32:44]: Yeah. And that's a whole nother thing we can uncover if you want, but yeah. Tiff [00:32:47]: Is it fashionable? Reginald Ferguson [00:32:51]: Not my agency. I have been in some more fashionable ones. Tiff [00:32:55]: Okay. Reginald Ferguson [00:32:55]: Yeah. Like advertisers. They can get down with the right client, the right shop. Some of them can get down. It's definitely not at the old fashioned levels of, like, a diesel or housing works, which some of my other employers back in the day. But some of them can get down, depending on the account. You'll see some nice accessories and secondary items like, oh, okay, you put some money into that. I respect it. Reginald Ferguson [00:33:19]: But then they'll wear it properly because that's sometimes the yin of that yang. Tiff [00:33:25]: True. Very true. It could be fashionable, but have the money. Reginald Ferguson [00:33:28]: But if it's not worn right, you can't buy balance. Style is, I think, more balanced than you think. Tiff [00:33:36]: Can we say that again? You can't buy balance. That's your quote right there. That's beautiful. Reginald Ferguson [00:33:43]: All right, let me get the trademark when you're done. Yes. Tiff [00:33:45]: Yours? Reginald Ferguson [00:33:47]: Well, let's segue into that a little bit. Tiff [00:33:49]: Yeah, do it. Reginald Ferguson [00:33:51]: TIFF is the bloodhound. She's mad. Research queen. Got it. But let's talk about style, okay? I mean, for me, for example, you can never be a client oh. Because your stuff is together. Tiff [00:34:08]: All right. You have respect. Yeah. You're it. Reginald Ferguson [00:34:13]: Yeah. That's part of the reason why you're on the show. So you're fly? Yeah, thank you. I'm Fly. It's a fly. Podcast. So why don't you break down first of all, why don't you let people know where they can find you on Insta? So then when I'm talking about this, they could corroborate my you could find me if you want to see some of my looks at Alccisi two, and that's Alsisi Two on the Insta. How would you describe your steez? My style is a blend of things. Reginald Ferguson [00:34:53]: I think it's pretty new American casual, but then I splice it with a lot of color. So I kind of, like, do a Kaleidoscope move with basics. Not tonight. When I saw you, we're all wearing charcoal. Excuse me. I got brown on. When I saw you all, it's fall. Yes. Reginald Ferguson [00:35:22]: So when I saw you in the lobby of the studio, immediately I was like, well, first of all, I know you. So I'm like, oh, that's him. But again, I was like, this is why he's here. So why don't you break down what you had on head to toe? What were you rocking? I was rocking. Just what day was that? That was a while ago, wasn't it? I'm talking about today. Oh, you're talking about today? Just now? Today. All right. Let me come back in the lobby. Reginald Ferguson [00:35:51]: I like to rock. What I've been doing lately is I've been looking for expensive labels that have vintage pieces. So I've kind of been on that hunt where places like what's it called, and they have them around town, ena, which is, I think, good for menswear. I don't know if I'm pronouncing it right. I think it's in a but they have them around and they're pretty good for menswear. You can find them in Nolita. Chelsea Soho I got this bubble jacket. It's a Prada vintage piece. Reginald Ferguson [00:36:20]: And I had went back to the store for like a month to buy it. I wanted it, but then I would look at my check like, I can't spend this right now. And this can be a fashion dilemma sometimes. I know if I buy it, I'll be happy as hell. But you'd be broke as hell, too. Tiff [00:36:35]: Yeah, right. Reginald Ferguson [00:36:36]: I tipped the scale on that one. So, again, back to balance. And that's something I've had to learn as time goes on and experience and age is even when you're purchasing clothes that you want badly for your collection, you still got to realize that, hey, it's not cute to have nothing to eat with. You can't go to Bodega by twinkies. Exactly. I hope our producer Search hears that. Snow beach well, as you know, I got money and I have no he walked away from something. He reasoned with himself and walked away from the Ray Kwan. Reginald Ferguson [00:37:14]: Snow beach well, you know what I found out, too, is when I do walk away the first time, it's like a negotiation. Like a deal will come out of north and it's like 25% off. Tiff [00:37:24]: I was about ready to say, I always do that whenever I'm shopping. If there's something that's above my budget, I'm going to have a conversation with myself and I'm going to say, how much do I want? Is this worth it? I mean, if I get this, what can't I do? What can't I see? What can't I eat? I got to go through all that. And then sometimes I go diet is involved. Sometimes I walk away and I'm like, you know what? I'm going to come back in two days, and if this is still here, it is meant to be. And that's what I do. And I think that's what you do with your sample sales, too, when you said you tuck them away in a little, tiny little spot and you go back at the end of the week and if it's still there, it's meant to be, and that's okay. Then I'll have to figure out how I'm going to make this work. Because it is meant to be. Reginald Ferguson [00:38:11]: And when it's meant to be, you've already got that answer in your pocket, right? Tiff [00:38:15]: So you just take the money out of your pocket, right? That's all. Reginald Ferguson [00:38:18]: Yeah. Or you take out the phone and then click on the venmo. Tiff [00:38:22]: Oh, you guys. Reginald Ferguson [00:38:27]: But part of me still then likes having cash for the sample sales, too, because they don't always have registers available. Sometimes they're doing a little calculator punch in. Like, in fact, the building I work at in Chelsea, they have September all the time, and they have this Premier brand, and you go in and it's basically they're just taking your dollars and punching the calculator from, like, after Texas Instruments 1995. And I'm thinking oh, okay. You know, there's so many loopholes in this supply chain. Tiff [00:38:58]: Yes, sure is. Reginald Ferguson [00:39:00]: But I don't need a receipt. Thanks. Have a good day. Tiff [00:39:04]: If it's cash I don't do cash. Reginald Ferguson [00:39:07]: Well, that's a problem. Tiff [00:39:09]: American Express. Points. Reginald Ferguson [00:39:11]: So prada down jacket. Yeah. So I was doing that and then have some. Tiff [00:39:16]: Did you buy it? Reginald Ferguson [00:39:17]: Yes, I bought it. That's what we saw in the lobby. Okay, we got that. What else? And then the Army Navy store on West Eigth a while back, they closed down, so I bought the little beanie from there. Tiff [00:39:28]: I know which store you're talking about. Reginald Ferguson [00:39:30]: Yeah, the classic one. Tiff [00:39:31]: Yeah, I totally bought. Reginald Ferguson [00:39:33]: They moved, I think so they didn't. Tiff [00:39:35]: Close down, they just moved, right? Reginald Ferguson [00:39:37]: I believe so. Now, the fact checkers on Twitter, I know that they're going to come for me, and that's fine at me. Tiff [00:39:45]: It's okay. Reginald Ferguson [00:39:47]: I have some old Levi's that I bought from Urban Outfitters years ago. Before they used to fall apart after two. Tiff [00:39:54]: Yeah, you mean quality. Reginald Ferguson [00:39:55]: What about the kicks? Yeah, the kicks. What do I have? Old school? Oh, yeah. Shell heads. The Adidas Leather superstars. Which shell heads? The twist with these ones is they're leather, but they're black. Like, you never see black. It's inverted superstar. Yeah. Reginald Ferguson [00:40:12]: And that's what caught me in Shout Safar fetch if you don't know about them, and then rocking some mad. Yeah. Jewelry has been kind of like my latest thing with bracelets and watches, because I feel like as a man, you get to a point where there isn't a lot more you need in the collection. I mean, you could add colors within, say, a piece that you like. Say, I like St. Laurent, like button downs. I think they're comfortable and they're worth the mean. But if you go you can go between a color, you get like two or three different colors, but then after that point, you're like, well, all right, I'm maxed out. Reginald Ferguson [00:40:51]: And then you think, okay, maybe I can go to Boots. And you say, okay, I got brown boots. Do I want this type of boot or not that type. I don't want those types. I just want a wally. But then where can I buy wallies without going online? Because if you go online, they look like they're knockoffs and no knockoffs. Just go to Clarks. Tiff [00:41:13]: I could Clarks.com, is this a fashion geek secret that you are handing. Reginald Ferguson [00:41:22]: My wallies? I was rocking wallies last weekend. Matter of fact, I polished them up this weekend, but I ordered them from Clark's last year. Tiff [00:41:30]: What color? Reginald Ferguson [00:41:31]: Burgundy. High top leather with the official gum sole. Yeah. Yes, of course. Beautiful. Well, I think part of it for me too is there's a footwear shop on fulton street kind of like, around Fulton? And what I want to say oh, okay. And I feel like it's the only shop left in New York that just has different wallies in the colors, and so I think that's why, in my mind, you should go to NAV and Fulton. You said Fulton, so I thought you meant you're thinking up the street. Reginald Ferguson [00:42:04]: I'm just saying fulton and Seaport. Yeah, they just got that spot across street from the vim. Yeah, I think. Near Portobella, right. Yeah. Crazy. Yeah, they have crazy. Tiff [00:42:16]: I'm sitting here walking too. Reginald Ferguson [00:42:18]: Okay. So, yeah, I feel like I got to go to both and then give a report on which was better. Maybe buy one pair from each. You could come back. Yeah. You could be our roving reporter. Tiff [00:42:27]: Oh, that's cool. Reginald Ferguson [00:42:28]: Do I get a badge? We give you a button. Yeah, we got nyfg button. Tiff [00:42:34]: Tons of buttons. Reginald Ferguson [00:42:35]: Absolutely. Tiff [00:42:35]: Really nice one. I should have worn it tonight. Reginald Ferguson [00:42:37]: Yes. Square. Tiff [00:42:38]: I'm sitting here watching you two talk about shoes, and it's amazing watching two guys, grown ass men, the biggest smiles on your face and your joy in your eye, talking about shoes, and I'm like, I've never in my life would I ever expected two men to get such a joy out of talking about shoes, because oh, absolutely. Reginald Ferguson [00:42:57]: You got to get out more. I feel like for women, it's the one thing that they never tell us they pay attention to, but we know that. Tiff [00:43:04]: Well, women love shoes. Forget about it. I've got, like, 55 pairs of shoes myself. Reginald Ferguson [00:43:09]: Who taught you, abdul. Who taught you the importance of fashion gear? And let's just be specific right now to TIFF shoes. Okay. My father, bing growing up in a West African house. Tiff [00:43:21]: Nice. Reginald Ferguson [00:43:22]: It's shoes upon shoes. I mean, my uncles like their friends, so all the looks tailored. Tiff [00:43:31]: So you said West African household and shoe. Was there a thing about yeah, my. Reginald Ferguson [00:43:36]: Dad like, his own closet of shoes, and my mother had her own closet of shoes. Tiff [00:43:40]: Is that a West African thing, to have a lot of shoes? Reginald Ferguson [00:43:43]: Yeah, but I think it was a black thing. I think it was a black thing. Yeah. Tiff [00:43:47]: Well, it could be a woman. Reginald Ferguson [00:43:50]: My whole point is my late grandfather taught me everything about fashion style. I did a post on him recently because I was able to find a bunch of pocket squares, and that's kind of my next hunt, is I got to get a few more pockets, because I got a few. But, yeah, I want, like, a million .5. Right. Tiff [00:44:10]: Understood. Reginald Ferguson [00:44:12]: I think I got probably 30, 40. Tiff [00:44:14]: Can I throw in that? Imelda Marcos. Legendary. She had at least 150 pairs of shoes. We can't say it's a woman thing or a black thing or a West. Reginald Ferguson [00:44:25]: African it's a fashion thing. Tiff [00:44:27]: It's a people think if any person was given the budget in the pocketbook, they would buy lots of shoes because shoes are just creative. Reginald Ferguson [00:44:38]: But Abdul hit on something when you live in New York, and me being as a native and I mean him, he's like, honorary because he's lived here so long. It's about space. So don't tell me anything about budget if I don't have space. So what would do? Like, would I be, like, seinfeld? And for cars, I'd have for shoes, I'd have to go to my spot, my shoe garage, which would be Manhattan Mini storage, I was going to say. And this is why Manhattan Mini Storage is in business. Tiff [00:45:04]: Right. It's so true. Otherwise or my basement. My basement is bottom to top, full of stuff that I never wear anymore, but I don't want to throw it away. Reginald Ferguson [00:45:13]: Yeah. Tiff [00:45:13]: Because it's going to come back in fashion one day. Right. Reginald Ferguson [00:45:17]: And you have those memories attached to those things. Tiff [00:45:19]: Yeah. Reginald Ferguson [00:45:19]: Right. Abdul, here's a question I have for you. Okay. Before we let you go. How does fashion influence your poetry? Tiff [00:45:31]: Boom. Reginald Ferguson [00:45:32]: I think fashion influences my poetry in the sense that it informs not only what people are wearing, but it also informs who influence those that are wearing what they are. So, I mean, I think in my work, specifically, I'll talk about nominal items, but then I'll also attach some brand to that, depending on what I'm infatuated with or what my experience was that time. I think I do have a poem in there. Kareem Abdul Jabbar, to me, is like that. Yeah, in a sense. Yeah. I do attach brands to nominal items that I've had, like, visual and imaginary experiences with. And I think there was another piece I wrote about at Indiana where I talk about Calvin Klein jeans, because that was kind of growing up in eighty S and ninety S. Reginald Ferguson [00:46:19]: That was the brand. Yes, for menswear and also and women's sport wear. Yeah, men's wear, women's wear sportswear. Tiff [00:46:26]: You can't get caught without urban wear jeans. Reginald Ferguson [00:46:29]: Yeah. And because technology wasn't the same, there was no Facebook and all that then. So it's like the TV medium was still the most powerful. And then the magazines and the magazines magazine in there, too. Tiff [00:46:44]: Reg has got all of them keeping magazines in business. Yes, he is. Reginald Ferguson [00:46:50]: Yeah. And I think there's always a marketplace for that. But yeah, I think that's where my poetry was influenced by fashion, in a sense, and informs how I write, because certain brands are integral to the story of my writing experience, and it would behoove me to name check them when appropriate. Tiff [00:47:08]: So we should be hearing a piece soon about that Prada bubble jacket that you just acquired. Reginald Ferguson [00:47:15]: It could happen. It could happen. I haven't written anything in a couple of months because I've been less focused on the writing from a raw standpoint and kind of more on the production of shows and videos and things of that nature. Tiff [00:47:28]: So you're a Renaissance man, too? Reginald Ferguson [00:47:30]: Yeah, I like to dip my hat in things. Tiff [00:47:33]: That's amazing. Reginald Ferguson [00:47:34]: Because it's there. Why not? Tiff [00:47:36]: Boom. Reginald Ferguson [00:47:37]: Before you break out, will you grace us? Now? You could do it off the dome, but as you can see, I brought my autograph. My autographed copy. Good. I was going to do syllables, make. Tiff [00:47:48]: Sure I did right by you. Reginald Ferguson [00:47:49]: Yes, you did. Yeah, absolutely. Tiff [00:47:51]: Just want to make sure everybody heard the title. Extended Syllables. That's the title of your book of poetry. Reginald Ferguson [00:47:55]: Find that again. Can find it on my website. Extended Syllables.com. So would you grace us? Yeah. Let me give a little thought and see what I could do. Tiff [00:48:05]: Give a little thumb through see what? I like to pick up a book and thumb through it and just open a page and then read. And that's what I was meant to read for the moment. Do you ever do that? Have you ever done that? Reginald Ferguson [00:48:18]: No. That's weird. Tiff [00:48:18]: That started with me with the Bible when I was growing up. Reginald Ferguson [00:48:22]: Do that. Well, that's not weird. Tiff [00:48:24]: Growing up, if I had an issue, my aunt or my I'm trying to think, who are my influences, they would go, open the Bible, just open it up and just read a verse, and there's your answer. And so I would do that. But then I moved on as I grew up, to different books. I'm like, I'm just going to pick up this book and just read what it has to say, a book of poetry or a book of prose and just get my answer. If I had a question, do we have an answer? Reginald Ferguson [00:48:48]: Yeah. Let's see how you guys feel about this one. It goes back to the Hades of disco. Call it disco. Fame greatness illuminates above and below. Greatness brings free gifts, material sometimes celestial greatness streams page views greatness collects higher bounce rates greatness is lonely greatness isolates the mind greatness strengthens the spirit greatness cuts between connections greatness nourishes desire greatness collapses for quite a while. Greatness in one sense reflects actually greatness in one sense concludes greatness in another reflects. Greatness covers our wounds, greatness opens them farther when cracked. Reginald Ferguson [00:49:40]: You are great because you live to put in work street knowledge, academic courage and wisdom breed great insight. You smell greatness in that parfume deca. You listen for greatness in your instruction. You feel greatness in the building. You see greatness in your genetics, you taste greatness in your homemade blueberry muffin. You build for greatness in your community center. I feel great just to exist. It's just like a dream. Reginald Ferguson [00:50:06]: Just go fame. Tiff [00:50:09]: Nice. Yeah. Reginald Ferguson [00:50:11]: I feel great that you were just able to grace this mic with us, man. Thank you for having me. Tiff [00:50:17]: I'm smiling ear to ear, to be honest. Reginald Ferguson [00:50:18]: I just want to say parfum de cub because nobody knows about that brand anymore. Tiff [00:50:21]: I was like, OOH, I love that. I like the way that rolled off your tongue. Reginald Ferguson [00:50:26]: Well, he's got that French down, and I got to work on it. I'm trying to get there next year for a little while. I want to do it. Tiff [00:50:33]: I took three years in high school, and it didn't stick. Reginald Ferguson [00:50:37]: I heard you got to get there and just disappear. Like James Baldwin. Yeah. Richard Wright. Yeah, no doubt. Tiff [00:50:44]: I went three days. Apparently, that wasn't long enough. Reginald Ferguson [00:50:47]: But did you have the bread, though? Tiff [00:50:49]: Of course. I had it every single day. Reginald Ferguson [00:50:51]: You have to. That and the champagne and the stereotype exists. You do see people walking around with the baguettes in the bag. Tiff [00:50:57]: Yes. And they're just eating it, just pulling it out as they're walking by. Reginald Ferguson [00:51:00]: That's what made, I think, France fascinating away was that the stereotypes that we have heard about over the years, they're true. They're fine with it, and I'm like, good, cool. Tiff [00:51:08]: And they hate Americans until they know you. Reginald Ferguson [00:51:11]: Then once they know you, it's fine. Now we got to move on to our next section. Can you stay for that next section, or you got to bounce? I'm here. I have nothing but time. Tiff [00:51:19]: Wow. Let me tell you what the next maybe you can help us and give us a little input on our next segment is the I Must have it section. Reginald Ferguson [00:51:34]: I must have it. Tiff [00:51:39]: And let me tell you a little bit what that is. So it's a segment where we talk about regg's choice of what he must have coveted item. A coveted item. Reginald Ferguson [00:51:50]: Generally, I don't have it. Sometimes I do. Tiff [00:51:53]: So our I must have it item for today is fry cowboy boots. Yee haw. Reginald Ferguson [00:52:01]: Some fry up. Tiff [00:52:05]: So this blew me a little bit because we are in Manhattan. Reginald Ferguson [00:52:09]: Yes. Tiff [00:52:10]: And cowboy boots. Reginald Ferguson [00:52:13]: Yes. Let me explain. I've always had an interest in country, and, okay. Grandpa loved the music, and so did I. So my mom taught me the African American contribution to the know deadwood Dick, for example. Sure. Because as we know, it's his story, and all of a sudden, ours is ignored. But we were there. Reginald Ferguson [00:52:35]: So I went to Billings, Montana, last year, and I bought a cowboy hat. Tiff [00:52:41]: Now, I didn't know that. Well, you kept that from me. Reginald Ferguson [00:52:45]: Well, I mean, come on. You can't know everything. Tiff [00:52:48]: Wow, discovery. I thought we were friends. Reginald Ferguson [00:52:50]: We are, but not friends for everything. Okay, you can't know everything is my point. Tiff [00:52:57]: Eventually, I will. Reginald Ferguson [00:52:59]: You confused here. Abdul, you with me? I'm here. All right, I'm along. I got a stetson. I rocked it for my entire trip in Montana. It's beautiful. Tiff [00:53:09]: There must be a picture on Instagram. Reginald Ferguson [00:53:11]: I don't have it on Insta. I could produce it if need be. For the Insta or just for you, because you're my friend. TIFF, I feel like you have it in the pocket for I totally have it in the pocket. I totally have in the pocket. It's beautiful. Got it from a consignment store. A cowboy hat consignment. Reginald Ferguson [00:53:29]: Yeah. That makes sense in Billings. Tiff [00:53:32]: But that's even better. That's even better because it has a story to it. Reginald Ferguson [00:53:37]: No, absolutely. It was crazy smooth. Big shout out to H bar. Hat works. They were so incredible. So it's a beige, so it's neutral. That's why I was able to rock it for my entire trip. It matched everything. Reginald Ferguson [00:53:48]: And people that I was with, they were just like, what? I was like, yeah. So I rocked it. Came back to New York, still in the box. Haven't really rocked it since. And I realized something. I had no boots to go in my hat. Tiff [00:54:04]: There you go. Yeah, because it's a pear. Reginald Ferguson [00:54:07]: It's like peanut butter. No jelly. Yeah. Tiff [00:54:10]: You took the words right out of my mouth. Reginald Ferguson [00:54:12]: It's coordinated. Tiff [00:54:13]: Or strawberries and cream. I'm here. You're the poet. Reginald Ferguson [00:54:19]: I needed to coordinate. Tiff [00:54:21]: See, I see. Reginald Ferguson [00:54:22]: You know, Marcus, I need to right. So so I figured if I do, I gotta get me some Fry boots. I mean, I've seen Fry boots. I don't know about this whole New York City thing. I've seen Fry boots, only here because I'm from here and I've only lived here. Right. So I just view them as a classic. Tiff [00:54:38]: Yeah, well, they are. Reginald Ferguson [00:54:39]: It's an American brand. I don't think you're going to go no. No, I don't think so at all. I mean, if person A is laughing at you, then they're probably from Oklahoma. Texas. But that's not fair. I have seen people walking through with the whole kit. I'm missing a piece. Tiff [00:54:57]: Well, Fry boots, they don't just make Western boots. Reginald Ferguson [00:55:00]: No, I know that, but for me, yes, no, I know that their product line is deep. There's no question about that. But just for me, when I think of boots and obviously, again, there's a gazillion styles of brands of boots, rather. But I'm like, I got to get me some fries. Tiff [00:55:18]: Well, they're well worth it. They're called an American heritage company because they've been making boots in America since 1883, I think is 1863. Wow. I need my glasses. 1863. Reginald Ferguson [00:55:35]: Edward Dick era. Tiff [00:55:36]: Oh, okay. Look at that. Absolutely. I'm looking at my phone for a little information because I'm not as prepared as I normally am. Reginald Ferguson [00:55:45]: Well, as you're doing that abdul, do you have any cowboy boots? I do not. I do have Cuban boots, but that's not that's a Cuban heel. No, that's totally different. Yeah. I'm going to ask Search, even though we know where his allegiances lie, and I don't know if Ralph Lauren has made a cowboy boot. I know they have a whole Western no, I just well, they have that double RL line, but I don't know if Footwear got in to that collection. Well, as you know, our producer Search is the polo Ralph Lauren expert, so if anyone knew, it would be he. He would know. Reginald Ferguson [00:56:18]: Yeah. Oh, yet you don't have a pair search. Christmas is coming. So is Kwanza. Tiff [00:56:26]: And Reg is going to buy you exactly what you want because he is Santa Claus. Reginald Ferguson [00:56:31]: Sprinkle you. And Tiffany, of course, has cowboy boots. Tiff [00:56:40]: That is a no. Reginald Ferguson [00:56:41]: What do you mean you don't have cowboy boots? Tiff [00:56:42]: Do not have cowboy you don't have cowboy boots. I have all other kind of boots. Reginald Ferguson [00:56:46]: You're a boot girl. I just knew you had a pair. Tiff [00:56:48]: Of cowboy I have riding boots. I have the female version of the Chelsea boot. I got a wedge heeled boot, but I do not really have cowboy boots. Reginald Ferguson [00:57:02]: Wow. Tiff [00:57:03]: I never liked them. What? Can you believe that? Reginald Ferguson [00:57:07]: Why? Tiff [00:57:09]: Well, I did try on a pair of cowboy boots when my best friend at the time was loving them and they pinched my toes. They pinched the top of my feet. I have a pretty wide top of my foot. Reginald Ferguson [00:57:17]: Did you have that square toe? Tiff [00:57:19]: No. Reginald Ferguson [00:57:19]: Fry or no rounded pointy? Tiff [00:57:21]: All cowboy boots have a pointed toe. Reginald Ferguson [00:57:23]: No, they don't. Tiff [00:57:24]: Well, Fry boots have changed the game. They're a different kind of boot, but the original cowboy boot has a pointed toe and they just weren't comfortable for me. But beyond that, it was my time where I was quiet and I was not self expressed. And even though I loved them and I thought they were beautiful, I'm like, I couldn't wear those. I couldn't wear those. It would draw too much attention to me. Right. What was wrong with me then? Reginald Ferguson [00:57:50]: No, I went through a phase. No, time does different things. You evolve, your taste change. So there's nothing wrong with that. I have always liked Fry boots since I was a child. It doesn't mean I've had the same intensity about them since I was a child, but I'm going to have to do it. Tiff [00:58:12]: Well, they're high quality boots. They've been making them for a long time. They use only the top hides and they guarantee their work for a year. So if anything happens with your boot, that's not based on something that you're doing in your wear and tear of them, but any manufacturing up to a year, they'll totally take it in, fix your boot for you, which is awesome. I like that because you're wearing them every day. I mean, things are going to happen and some of these leathers are easily scratched, but that's part of the character of the boot. So they tan it to where it's smooth and smooth, but it gets a scratch. But it still looks good because that's what the Fry boot is supposed to do and look like. Tiff [00:58:58]: So I like them. I have never owned a pair. I did find a pair of knee highs that I liked last year. They were out of my budget. I did try them on. They felt good. They belonged to me. But, yeah, I had to opt for a less expensive pair similar to them. Tiff [00:59:19]: But one day, Christmas is coming, y'all. I know it. I'm going to get that, and I'm going to get my Bruno Molly bag. Reginald Ferguson [00:59:25]: Oh, my gosh. Tiff [00:59:26]: Yes, the bag. Reginald Ferguson [00:59:28]: That's a different story for another day. Let's move on. Tiff [00:59:32]: All right, so that's our I must have it item of day. So our last section, which we always have fun at, is the fashion word of the day. Reginald Ferguson [00:59:46]: Fashion word of the day? Yes. Tiff [00:59:53]: All right, Reg, are you ready? Reginald Ferguson [00:59:55]: Yeah. So let's explain what it is. Tiff [00:59:57]: All right? Reginald Ferguson [00:59:58]: Tiffany and I, we each bring a word to challenge the other with. Tiffany likes me dispel it and define it and use it in a sentence. Tiff [01:00:07]: Because that's the best way to do things. Reginald Ferguson [01:00:10]: Because all of a sudden, I'm back in elementary school. All right, I got my word for you. TIFF, you ready? Tiff [01:00:18]: Yes. Reginald Ferguson [01:00:19]: Monk strap. Tiff [01:00:21]: Monk strap. Reginald Ferguson [01:00:22]: Yes. Tiff [01:00:24]: I'm going to spell is it one word or two words? Okay. Monk strap. I'm going to go with two words. Monk second word. S-T-R-A-P. Monk strap. Reginald Ferguson [01:00:37]: Yes, you are correct. Tiff [01:00:38]: And I'm going to say it's a strap used to pull on boots. Am I close? Shoes. Riches. Reginald Ferguson [01:00:48]: Shoes. Tiff [01:00:50]: I give up. Reginald Ferguson [01:00:51]: All right. It's a shoe with no lacing, closed by a buckle and a strap. Tiff [01:00:56]: Oh, a monk strap shoe. Reginald Ferguson [01:00:59]: A monk strap. Tiff [01:01:00]: A monk strap. Reginald Ferguson [01:01:01]: Yeah. Tiff [01:01:01]: I can visualize it right now. I know exactly what you're talking about. Reginald Ferguson [01:01:04]: I have a pair of double monk straps. Tiff [01:01:06]: Oh, so that's a double strap and buckle. Reginald Ferguson [01:01:08]: I could even show it to you because one of them had to get repaired today. Tiff [01:01:12]: Oh, how old are they? Because your shoes you pride yourself on keeping your shoes for a long time. Reginald Ferguson [01:01:18]: No doubt. Men, if you're buying shoes and you're buying shoes with me, your shoes should last you minimum a decade. Tiff [01:01:27]: And that is you have to take them in. You have to get them tuned up, care of them. You take good care of them. You take them in, get them tuned. Reginald Ferguson [01:01:33]: Up, polish them, clean them, get it. Tiff [01:01:36]: Professionally done how many times a year? Once a month, maybe? Reginald Ferguson [01:01:40]: No. I mean, no, I'm going to be clear. The polishing I'm doing. Polishing and cleaning, I'm doing. I take him to the shoe guy for taps. Tiff [01:01:49]: Taps? Reginald Ferguson [01:01:50]: Taps. Mitigate. The wearing down of the heel also can aid you, at least for the top part of the sole. Tiff [01:01:57]: Okay. Hear that, guys? Get your caps. Reginald Ferguson [01:02:00]: I've got. Tiff [01:02:01]: Beautiful. Reginald Ferguson [01:02:02]: Thank you. So I have just one in my hands, the right shoe, double monk straps. And as you could see here, the little thingy here that goes into the hole. We had a problem yesterday, so I was a little too aggressive with the strap. Tiff [01:02:21]: So you got to get that fixed. Reginald Ferguson [01:02:22]: No. And the thing went bling. Tiff [01:02:24]: Oh, wow. Reginald Ferguson [01:02:25]: But I caught it. I was in my crib, so it wasn't a problem. If you live in Brooklyn, I would say go to Michael's on Smith Street, right off the Carroll Street stop. My boy Mikhail, because he's Russian, but got that know, had to do that, the immigrant story. But the point is, he fixed it for me. Gratis wow. Tiff [01:02:48]: Probably because you bring him a lot of business, because you really take care of your stuff. Reginald Ferguson [01:02:52]: Yeah, I go, I mean, he's my guy. Tiff [01:02:53]: That's what you do. You take care of it. And it'll last a long time. Reginald Ferguson [01:02:56]: And I bought two things of polish since he didn't charge me. Tiff [01:02:58]: Oh, well, there you go. See, that's how you do that. Reginald Ferguson [01:03:01]: That's good exchange. Tiff [01:03:02]: Hey, I agree. Reginald Ferguson [01:03:03]: He's my guy. Tiff [01:03:04]: I would take mine to somebody else to do, because I don't know what I'm doing with polishing shoes. So I want to make sure it's done right. Reginald Ferguson [01:03:11]: I have my grandfather, Abdul, and I were talking about father influence. Grandfather influence for me. I have my late grandfather's shoe shine kit. Tiff [01:03:18]: Oh, let me throw in my husband because of our podcast. Reginald Ferguson [01:03:22]: Still not my client. Tiff [01:03:23]: Because of our podcast. Reginald Ferguson [01:03:25]: Like a tease, every episode, Abdul, she brings up her husband, who is not my client. Tiff [01:03:31]: He does listen, but he does listen to us, which is good, because he listens to me on the podcast, but he doesn't listen to me other times. I guess there is that. Reginald Ferguson [01:03:42]: Coded messages subliminal. Tiff [01:03:45]: We were in airport, and we had some time, and there was a shoe shine guy, and he goes, you know what? Because we're going to a wedding, he goes, I want to get my shoe shine. And I go, yeah, you should do that. And I watched, and there were three different levels of shoe shine, and it was a very clever name. It was the works. Shiny and beautiful. And it looked really nice. Brand new. It looks like he had a brand new pair of shoes on. Tiff [01:04:08]: It's amazing what this guy did. Reginald Ferguson [01:04:10]: When you have an expert artisan. Tiff [01:04:12]: Simply amazing. And that made that leather be a little bit more flexible. Oh. All right, let's move on to your turn. Reginald Ferguson [01:04:18]: Okay. Tiff [01:04:19]: Ready for your word? Reginald Ferguson [01:04:20]: Sure. Tiff [01:04:20]: It has a little bit, just a teeny tiny bit to do with one segment of our podcast today. Reginald Ferguson [01:04:27]: All right. Tiff [01:04:27]: The word is yoke. Reginald Ferguson [01:04:29]: Yoke. Y-O-K-E. Good job. Tiff [01:04:33]: Ding ding, ding ding. Reginald Ferguson [01:04:34]: I've got the spelling down. Tiff [01:04:35]: Yeah. Reginald Ferguson [01:04:36]: I have no clue of a fashion definition of this word, yolk. Tiff [01:04:41]: And this is I'm so happy to see that you didn't spell it like an egg yolk, that you spelled it right. Good job. Good job. Reginald Ferguson [01:04:47]: It's a fashion show. It's not a culinary show. Tiff [01:04:49]: I know. So a yolk. Reginald Ferguson [01:04:52]: Wait, hold on. Abdul, do you know the definition in this context? I'm going to tap him in in. Tiff [01:04:59]: The fabric clothing context. What is a yoke? Reginald Ferguson [01:05:02]: She's got me. I'm in space. All right, I'm not going to say the obvious, because that answer is so wrong. That we'd just be laughing for ten minutes. I only think of yoke as a verb anyway. Tiff [01:05:16]: Oh, it definitely can be a verb. Absolutely. So yoke in the fashion sense or the clothing sense. And I know this word because, as everybody who has listened to the podcast before knows, I used to design and build costumes and a lot of period of pieces, and the yoke was used often. So it's a shaped pattern piece which forms part of a garment, usually fitting around the neck and shoulders or around the hips to provide support for looser parts of the garment, such as a gathered skirt or pleats or the body of a shirt. Yoke construction was first seen in the 19th century. Bodice yolks. I used to do a lot of bodices for turn of the century and restoration. Tiff [01:06:02]: Bodice yolks were first seen in the 1880s, whilst the yoke shirt, a shirt suspended from a fitted hip yoke was first seen in the 1898. Now, how this pertains to our podcast today? Western wear. The Western shirt has that yoke. So the shoulder piece that comes down like this, and then the rest of the shirt connects on the bottom. And a lot of times the yoke is embroidered with some fancy design. Reginald Ferguson [01:06:33]: I love Western shirts. Tiff [01:06:35]: Yeah, that's called a yoke. And in Western women's skirts, the waist is a fitted yoke with the pleats or the gathers coming out from that waist part. So it draws in the waist tight and then the fullness comes from the bottom of the yoke. It gives the women the hourglass figure back in the day. Reginald Ferguson [01:06:55]: You got us TIFF. Tiff [01:06:57]: Yes. Reginald Ferguson [01:07:00]: Well, that's a wrap. Thank you so much for listening. We hope you had fun or down for another one. Please tell your friends about us. I want to thank our first guest for so what do You Do, abdul Fatah Ismail Yo A. Thank you so much for coming through. Tiff [01:07:15]: Yes, thank you. Reginald Ferguson [01:07:16]: Really appreciate it. Tiff [01:07:18]: It's a lot of fun having a third person on the mic. I mean, we had Search last time. We have you this time. It's good. It adds a lot of dynamic. Reginald Ferguson [01:07:25]: And he's our roving reporter. Tiff [01:07:27]: Yeah, you got a new job now. Reginald Ferguson [01:07:29]: A little broadcast from Fulton Street. Yep. Both fulton streets. I want to thank everyone who kept voting fashionable. It's the right thing to do. Tiff [01:07:39]: Yes. Let's do it again next year and the year after. Reginald Ferguson [01:07:42]: Yep. Special shout out goes to our producer Search. And everyone down with the Nyfg. Tiff [01:07:46]: And I also want to thank new listeners. Thanks for listening to us. Now go back and listen to all our other episodes. We got nine others, zero to eight, so we have a lot of knowledge that we're dropping. So please collect and subscribe. Yeah, we want to be part of the new and noteworthy. I don't know, can we do that now after ten episodes? Are we new? Reginald Ferguson [01:08:06]: Keep subscribing. Tiff [01:08:07]: Yeah, it doesn't matter. And for those who have been listening to us all along, my husband. Thank you. It's not just my husband, but I got to give him a special shout out. And if you have any ideas for us, any kind of sort of fashion word of the day, or I must have it item you want us to discuss, please reach out to us at podcast@nyfashiongeek.com. That's the email. Or you can go to our instagram new York fashion geek. You can even DM reg. Tiff [01:08:42]: If you're looking for a consultation or you have an event coming up and you need a little help because the holidays are coming. So reach out, let us help you be the best man that you can be. Reginald Ferguson [01:08:54]: Absolutely. I'm reg and I'm kiss. See you next time. Tiff [01:08:58]: And remember, always be fly.