If you've been around me long enough you'll know I maintain a healthy suspicion for things like the perfect tie knot, overly shined leather goods or consistently flawless grammar. That's not to say I don't appreciate the effort it takes to achieve all three but frankly I think they can be boring and affected.
I've struggled to articulate this but recently came across a word that helps. Baldassare Castiglione, in The Book of the Courtier, discusses Sprezzatura ...
I have found quite a universal rule which in this matter seems to me valid above all other, and in all human affairs whether in word or deed: and that is to avoid affectation in every way possible as though it were some rough and dangerous reef; and (to pronounce a new word perhaps) to practice in all thing a certain sprezzatura [nonchalance], so as to conceal all art and make whatever is done or said appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it.
It's not that I don't appreciate effort. In fact my interpretation of sprezzatura is that it requires quite a bit of effort [more so than normal]. What I don't like is when someone reeks of effort.
This photo from The Sartorialist visually sums it up:
The immediate example that comes to mind is Jon Kerry vs. Bill Clinton. Clearly Bubba's got it, and Kerry never did.
Any good examples you can think of?