Style, explained

What is style? It’s lately become a synonym for fashion, but historically, particularly in the field of letters, it has signified a way of being: “In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing,” Oscar Wilde once wrote. “I like people with style, with flair, with signature qualities,” The Washington Post’s own Ben Bradlee said about the paper’s Style section that he and a team of pioneering editors and writers introduced in 1969.