<html> <head> <style> .fl:first-line { color: #ff00ff; background: #ffccff; } .flWithContent:first-line { } </style> </head> <body onload="document.getElementById('inner').removeAttribute('class');"> <div id="outer" class="fl"> a <div id="inner" style="float: left;" class="flWithContent"> b </div> c </div> </body> </html>