“He is probably the most skillful writer in America — I mean by that he can do more things with words than anyone else.” That ironically choppy sentence is William F. Buckley Jr. on Tom Wolfe. The Pyrotechnic ‘New Journalist’ and Novelist, Has Died at 88. “As an unabashed contrarian, he was almost as well known for his attire as his satire. He was instantly recognizable as he strolled down Madison Avenue — a tall, slender, blue-eyed, still boyish-looking man in his spotless three-piece vanilla bespoke suit, pinstriped silk shirt with a starched white high collar, bright handkerchief peeking from his breast pocket, watch on a fob, faux spats and white shoes. Once asked to describe his get-up, Mr. Wolfe replied brightly, ‘Neo-pretentious.'”

+ Michael Lewis: How Tom Wolfe Became … Tom Wolfe.