Best & Worst: Steve Jobs' mock turtleneck an image that works

This post is written as part of AOL Money & Finance's Best & Worst 2006. Vote for Steve's uniform or to find out about other signature styles.

Long before it was popular for workplaces to have ping pong tables and video game rigs in the Internet boom of the late 90s, Steve Jobs aimed to shake things up and run against the grain. He wasn't one for suits, and the casual-wear chic of Steve Jobs, even during major presentations, quickly turned iconic once he returned to Apple wearing his blue jeans and black turtleneck.

This attire is such a part of the image of Steve Jobs that during the presentation that revealed the future iTV, Internet Apple fans tuned in and realized that Steve was NOT wearing a turtleneck and had lost a lot of weight. Worried faithful turned to each other to say things like "OMG, is Steve Jobs dying?"

The turtleneck works. It works because Jobs isn't trying hard to be hip; it works because he's being comfortable and having fun. The infectious grin, the "one more thing," and the emphasis on design -- the package is very different from other companies. And people respond to it. Other companies front expensive suits as spokespeople, but Jobs is not a suit -- he's a jeans and sweater guy.

Whether he really is or not is beside the point. The branding of Steve Jobs is smart because for most people, Jobs is Apple. By making Jobs stand out, Apple stands out. Apple is consistently rated one of the world's biggest brands now, and Jobs is smart enough to wield the brand of Steve as well. The uniform is the most visible aspect of that.