What do you consider the most important and revealing fact to know about a person? Is it his antecedents, heritage, background? Certainly that is not to be overlooked. Or would you be most interested in his possessions, the position he occupies, the nature of his reputation? Unquestionably this factor would seem to be of no little practical consequence. Or would it mean most to know his possibilities, his promise, what he might become? That surely is highly significant. But there is something more meaningful and informative than any of these items: The crucially important element of style.

A person’s style is made up, not of just one, two, or ten ingredients, but of all he is. It is the "tout ensemble," the all-togetherness, that total combination of personality qualities that gives him u…