Researchers claim that an average person needs less than 30 seconds to appraise someone at a first encounter. Even before the individual speaks, there is non-verbal communication. Body language such as crossed arms, dilated pupils, and forced smiles send a message. So does one’s clothing. In a day that places a high premium on communication and where even one’s appearance is crafted to evoke a certain response, clothes have become extremely meaningful.

At the very beginning of America’s fight for independence, Thomas Paine published his historic pamphlet Common Sense. In this highly incendiary work, he marshalled arguments to convince the members of the Thirteen Colonies to sever their union with England. He astutely noted that “Europe, and not England, is the parent country of America.” England, therefore, had no claim over the lives of all those in the colonies. Just common sense.

In almost every town in Italy, there is a street named “ Via XX Set­tembre” (September 20th Street). It celebrates the capture of Rome on Sept. 20, 1870. This event brought an end to the Papal States and unified Italy as one country. Prior to that date, the Pope was not merely the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church, but the temporal ruler of several states within Italy.