diff --git a/crates/egui/src/ui_stack.rs b/crates/egui/src/ui_stack.rs
index f6b4865be..d2426611a 100644
--- a/crates/egui/src/ui_stack.rs
+++ b/crates/egui/src/ui_stack.rs
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 use core::{any::Any, iter::FusedIterator};
 use std::sync::Arc;
 
-use crate::widget_style::Classes;
+use crate::widget_style::{ClassName, Classes, HasClasses as _};
 use epaint::Color32;
 
 use crate::{Direction, Frame, Id, Rect};
@@ -290,6 +290,21 @@ impl UiStack {
     pub fn contained_in(&self, kind: UiKind) -> bool {
         self.iter().any(|frame| frame.kind() == Some(kind))
     }
+
+    /// Does this node, or any [`crate::Ui`] up the stack, carry this class?
+    pub fn has_class(&self, class: impl Into<ClassName>) -> bool {
+        let class = class.into();
+        self.iter().any(|node| node.classes.has(class.clone()))
+    }
+
+    /// Read a value from the classes up the stack, nearest node first.
+    ///
+    /// This is how an inherited property works in a stylesheet: a container states it once, and
+    /// everything inside picks it up. The nearest [`crate::Ui`] wins, so an inner container can
+    /// override an outer one.
+    pub fn inherited<T>(&self, from_classes: impl Fn(&Classes) -> Option<T>) -> Option<T> {
+        self.iter().find_map(|node| from_classes(&node.classes))
+    }
 }
 
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/crates/egui/src/widget_style/classes.rs b/crates/egui/src/widget_style/classes.rs
index 77f2943f8..59a9c2d53 100644
--- a/crates/egui/src/widget_style/classes.rs
+++ b/crates/egui/src/widget_style/classes.rs
@@ -121,4 +121,15 @@ pub trait HasClasses {
     fn as_slice(&self) -> &[ClassName] {
         &self.classes().classes
     }
+
+    /// The last class that names a `T`, if any.
+    ///
+    /// Scanning backwards is what makes the last class win, so a widget given two classes of the
+    /// same kind takes the one set last — the way a later stylesheet rule overrides an earlier one.
+    fn last_class<T>(&self, from_class_name: impl Fn(&str) -> Option<T>) -> Option<T> {
+        self.as_slice()
+            .iter()
+            .rev()
+            .find_map(|class| from_class_name(class))
+    }
 }
diff --git a/crates/egui/src/widget_style/mod.rs b/crates/egui/src/widget_style/mod.rs
index ea2e234ab..8201735a5 100644
--- a/crates/egui/src/widget_style/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/egui/src/widget_style/mod.rs
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ use emath::Vec2;
 use epaint::{Color32, FontId, Stroke, text::TextWrapMode};
 
 use crate::{
-    Context, Frame, Response, Style, UiStack,
+    Context, Frame, Response, Style, TextStyle, UiStack,
     style::{WidgetVisuals, Widgets},
 };
 
@@ -35,6 +35,24 @@ pub struct TextVisuals {
     pub strikethrough: Stroke,
 }
 
+impl TextVisuals {
+    /// The undecorated body text of a [`Style`], as a starting point for a widget's own text.
+    ///
+    /// The color is the style's ordinary text color; a widget that paints its text in a color of
+    /// its own overrides it.
+    pub fn from_style(style: &Style) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            color: style.visuals.text_color(),
+            font_id: style
+                .override_font_id
+                .clone()
+                .unwrap_or_else(|| TextStyle::Body.resolve(style)),
+            underline: Stroke::NONE,
+            strikethrough: Stroke::NONE,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 /// General widget style
 #[derive(Debug, Clone)]
 pub struct BaseStyle {
@@ -176,3 +194,22 @@ pub struct StyleArgs<'a> {
     pub style: &'a Style,
     pub ctx: &'a Context,
 }
+
+impl StyleArgs<'_> {
+    /// Does the widget, or any [`crate::Ui`] it sits in, carry this class?
+    ///
+    /// This is the equivalent of a descendant selector (`.parent .child`): it lets a container
+    /// style everything inside it without having to touch each widget. Use
+    /// [`HasClasses::has`] on [`Self::classes`] instead for a class only ever set on a widget.
+    pub fn has_class(&self, class: impl Into<ClassName>) -> bool {
+        let class = class.into();
+        self.classes.has(class.clone()) || self.stack.has_class(class)
+    }
+
+    /// Read a value from the widget's own classes, falling back to the [`crate::Ui`]s it sits in.
+    ///
+    /// See [`UiStack::inherited`] for how the fallback resolves.
+    pub fn inherited<T>(&self, from_classes: impl Fn(&Classes) -> Option<T>) -> Option<T> {
+        from_classes(self.classes).or_else(|| self.stack.inherited(from_classes))
+    }
+}