Panache.

This is coolbert:

From a prior blog entry, Sir John Keegan the British military historian of the opinion that those "great and inspirational military commanders" possessing a "strongly developed and cultivated 'theatrical impulse'", theatrics of which dress is one aspect, obviously the most visible.

"Keegan having been of the opinion that the great and inspirational military commanders have all possessed what is best called a strongly developed and cultivated 'theatrical impulse.'. Outward and ostentatious displays designed to impress"

“'The leader of men in warfare can show himself to his followers only through a mask,' he wrote, 'a mask that he must make for himself, but a mask made in such a form as will mark him to men of his time and place as the leader they want and need.'”

Douglas MacArthur during the Second World War [WW2] most famous for the wearing of the crush cap [with plentiful amounts of "egg salad" what it is called], the sunglasses, the corncob pipe, the man instantaneously recognizable even at a distance, and unmistakeably so!!

Also from a much earlier period, that time of the Great War [WW1], MacArthur an outstanding leader on the battlefield decorated repeatedly for courage and combat valor numerous times [according to enlisted men serving under him, each and every decoration will earned and deserved], adopting unorthodox and unconventional attire [probably totally in violation of regulation!!

MacArthur while in France adopting and cultivating an aura somewhat in the manner of those French military officers also noted and renowned for combat heroics and ostentatious displays of dress and comportment.

As witnessed by MacArthur that exemplar the French general officer Henri Gouraud.

From "Old Soldiers Never Die":

"At forty-six Gouraud was the youngest army commander in France. With his red beard and awesome reputation as a fighting soldier, he seemed like a character out of Beau Geste. . . he walked with a severe limp, their result of a serious hip wound . . . . . commanding the French corps that fought at Gallipoli, he had left an arm there [and had broken both legs in the same instance of wounding that resulted in that lost arm!!]. His empty left sleeve, pinned to a jacket pocket, was a decoration in itself. Gouraud wore his general's kepi at a jaunty angle that insouciantly conveyed a fearless nature and a young man's delight in field soldiering. Smiling, alert and courageous, vivacious in manner despite the constant pain of his wounds."

Again, from "Old Soldiers Never Die":

"to the French, le style c 'est l' homme, and MacArthur by that time had certainly developed his own style, especially in the way he dressed."

"No one else . . . did it with MacArthur's panache."

"he took the grommet out his cap, making it look shapeless and jaunty. He wore a thick turtleneck sweater and purple muffler seven feet long that Pinky [the mother] had knitted for him a protection against the coldness and dampness of the trenches. He strode through the incessant mud of the marlaceous, war-torn fields of France in shiny, calf-hugging boots. He did not carry a weapon. Instead his large, powerful hands clenched a riding crop or a swagger stick"

MacArthur from that period of the Great War aboard what appears to be a troopship dressed most unconventionally the boa like scarf and that long fur coat not regulation. Note too the carrying of the riding crop! As stated, NONE did it as well as MacArthur! 

NONE OF THAT WEARING OF THE UNIFORM OUT OF REGULATION WOULD BE ALLOWED TODAY EVEN FOR THAT OFFICER OF THE HIGHEST RANK! REGARDLESS OF MOTIVATION OR INTENT UNIFORMITY NOT ONLY THE RULE BUT STRICT ADHERENCE TO THE LETTER AND SPIRIT OF REGS A MUST ALMOST TO A FAULT, NO EXCEPTIONS!!

coolbert.