"Smart"

"'New York City is in my blood,' Lhota said. 'I'm one of the few candidates running who was actually born here.' One grandfather was a firefighter; the other drove a cab. Lhota dresses 'smart,' as it used to be said: fitted blue blazer, four brass buttons on the sleeves, striped tie, coral-blue shirt, trim copper-gray beard." (48)

Joseph J. Lhota, former MTA chairman. From here.
Meier, Andrew. "Can't Anyone Here Play this Game?" New York Times Magazine July 28, 2013.


A smart dresser, not a description you hear often in the 2010s (as insinuated by Meier). In this piece, the author only mentions the clothing of a few of the candidates he briefly profiles; when is the outfit important, telling, typical, descriptive? How does he make that choice?