Following this, Devery was quoted as saying "I'll put a man in charge of the Detective's Bureau that people can talk to. McClusky is too chesty to be of any use. "Chesty" George, that's what he is". This was in reference both to his "manly" appearance as well as his familiar "dandy"-style of dress and the nickname would remain with him throughout his career. One summer evening, he visited the Hotel Knickerbocker wearing "a straw hat of a colored check pattern with a six-inch brim". A hat designer who was also in the hotel took a sketch of the hat and had his firm manufacturing them. A few days later, McClusky allegedly saw his hat in a Broadway store under a sign which read "Step in and buy a Merry Widow. The kind wore by Inspector McClusky, the swellest cop in the world".
