Rush Limbaugh fans hooked on tie collection

Richard Esicar once had a whole closet full of ties.

But that was before his wife sold most of them at a garage sale.

"I only got about four good ties to wear now," said the Cape Girardeau resident. "What few others I got are out of style."

One of Esicar's favorite ties is his Rush Limbaugh tie, a brightly colored affair with a design of red, blue and purple carousel horses on it.

It was a gift from Millie Limbaugh, the mother of conservative talk-show host and Cape Girardeau native Rush Limbaugh.

"She apologized because she couldn't find one with a hog on it," Esicar said with a laugh. The Esicar family owns a smokehouse that is famous for its hams.

The silk ties carry Limbaugh's signature on the label. There is a metal chain on the back to hold in the other half of the tie.

"They are a quality tie," said Esicar. A conservative, the Cape man is proud of Limbaugh.

Limbaugh's "No Boundaries" collection of ties appeared on the market about a year ago.

The ties sell for about $40 each and are manufactured by Top Knot of Salt Lake City.

"We are a specialty manufacturer, but we have never seen anything like this," said Clark Nichols, the company's executive vice president.

"The response has been next to incredible," he said.

"These are very bright and very bold. Once people start wearing them, they love them. They don't want to go back to a regular boring tie," Nichols said.

The company has both the regular Limbaugh ties and zipper ties for the children. The latter zip up around the neck. It also manufactures Limbaugh scarves.

Even people who aren't big fans of Limbaugh's politics have become hooked on the ties.

"My brother is a little bit on the liberal side and wouldn't wear one at first," Nichols said. "Now he does."

Last year, the Limbaugh line had 25 designs. This spring, a new line of 32 ties was unveiled.

The ties are featured in a 40-page catalog.

Limbaugh ties initially were sold entirely by direct mail, but they are now being sold in about 1,000 retail outlets nationwide.

Surprisingly, they aren't available yet at retail stores in Cape Girardeau.

Area residents who want a Limbaugh tie request the catalog by calling 1-800-960-7874. They also can order the ties over the Internet at www.rushties.com.