Asked at a news conference last week how he'd fix his party's negative image, the newly elected Republican National Committee chairman stepped from behind a podium and joked: "Well, I got a nice suit, and the tie is good." Among those impressed with that answer: Kwab Asamoah, owner of Kustom Looks Clothier, where Steele gets his snazzy duds - including the pin-striped suit and blue shirt he showed off for the news media that day.

The man chosen to lead the GOP out of the political wilderness is a clotheshorse whose taste befits someone straddling the line between trailblazer and conservative. Trousers with classic pleats and cuffs, for instance, but cut full - baggy, even - to evoke Harlem Renaissance styling. Classic pinstripes paired with a modern, fitted "athletic cut" suit jacket. And no more than three buttons on that jacket, even though the guy is 6-4.

"When you do four, it's not professional," Asamoah said. "When you're dealing with conservatives, especially GOP, no more than two or three buttons."