I put the code together from the accepted answer in a generic extension method, so it could be used for all kinds of objects:
public static string DescriptionAttr(this T source)
{
FieldInfo fi = source.GetType().GetField(source.ToString());
DescriptionAttribute[] attributes = (DescriptionAttribute[])fi.GetCustomAttributes(
typeof(DescriptionAttribute), false);
if (attributes != null && attributes.Length > 0) return attributes[0].Description;
else return source.ToString();
}
Using an enum like in the original post, or any other class whose property is decorated with the Description attribute, the code can be consumed like this:
string enumDesc = MyEnum.HereIsAnother.DescriptionAttr();
string classDesc = myInstance.SomeProperty.DescriptionAttr();