* Sartorial Solidarity: Forget politics--it was the...

* Sartorial Solidarity: Forget politics--it was the easy way Lech Walesa’s single-breasted jacket wrapped his burly frame that earned him recognition as one of the world’s best-dressed men. (Of course, the mustachioed Solidarity chief didn’t have the most challenging competition in the category of world’s spiffiest labor leader.) Walesa was just one of the sartorial stars recognized Sunday by the Fashion Foundation of America in New York on its 48th annual list of the “Best Dressed Men of the Year.” Alan King, the perpetually tuxedoed nightclub comedian was the best-dressed entertainer. Also praised was New York City Mayor David Dinkins in the civic affairs category and New Jersey Gov.-elect James Florio as the best dressed in government.

* Real Deal: Actor-activist Ed Asner has called on real estate agents to use their power to help the homeless. “God help me, what I’m really asking you to do is what George Bush has asked--that you become one of the ‘thousand points of light,’ ” he said. “Only it’s more like . . . a thousand well-placed boots to those using our tax dollars for bullets instead of buildings for our homeless.” Asner spoke Saturday to about 800 people at the 79th annual banquet of the Greater Pittsburgh Board of Realtors.

* Red Star: Mikhail Gorbachev’s “harrowing childhood” is detailed in Vanity Fair’s February cover story, a profile of the Soviet leader. The lengthy report by Gail Sheehy delves into Gorbachev’s relationship with his wife of 36 years, Raisa, and describes her as crucial in his rise to power. Sheehy says the Soviet leader calls her “my general.”

* A Dissenting Voice: Hosea Williams, who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1960s civil rights movement, isn’t pleased with the way the King holiday has turned out. “I think Dr. King’s birthday is being prostituted, second only to that of Jesus Christ,” Williams said. “Staying off from work and being non-productive has nothing to do with what Dr. King stood for . . .”