Dresses replace suits as norm for local newswomen

A sleeveless dress does not diminish your credibility.

That seems to be the general sentiments of many of the women who deliver the on-air news in central Pa.

Male and female reporters and anchors at WGAL were recently visited by a consultant that advised them on current fashion trends within the industry of broadcast journalism.

One of the general suggestions was that women wear more dresses instead of suits.

Flora Posteraro, ABC27 anchor, said for a long time suits were the standard attire for women in the workplace.

"We also wore suits because women were fighting a whole credibility issue and so we wanted to look business-like and very professional, and you wanted to appear as a credible journalist," she said. "I think we've gotten past that now."

She said now it is understood that a woman can be both fashionable and intelligent.

"If you [could see] what shoes I have on tonight. I would never have worn these shoes a couple of years ago," she said after her Oct. 5 broadcast.

Posteraro described her shoes as 4-inch "snakeskin pumps" that incorporate the colors yellow, grey and pink. She said they're two inches higher than the conservative heels that used to be the industry standard.

Fox43 anchor Amy Lutz said she, too, has noticed a shift towards less formal attire.

"I literally have probably 50 suits sitting in the attic of my mom's house from [my earlier in my career]," she said.

picture: bridesmaid dresses

She said Fox43 hasn't had an actual consultant come visit in the three years she's been with the station, but she had them at previous stations.

Regardless of fashion trends, Posteraro said it is important to exercise good judgment regarding what is appropriate.

"You certainly want to wear a dress that's appropriate for work," she said. "You don't want to wear a dress that you would wear to a cocktail party or a picnic in the middle of summer."

Kim Lemon, WGAL anchor, agreed. She said general guidelines for on-air dress remain the same, focusing on a "classic" look without distracting the viewer from the news.

"If you have to think about what I'm wearing over what I'm saying that's not a good thing," Lemon said.

CBS21 reporter Christina Butler said the change doesn't just help on-air journalists to keep up with current fashion trends, however. It also helps them to be more comfortable when they're out in the field.

"From a reporter standpoint that helps because we're running around," she said. "We're hiking through woods to get to a fire."

Still, Butler and Posteraro both pointed out that blazers and suits still come in handy and aren't completely out of style.

"A lot of reporters I know keep a suit jacket with them in their car or in the office," Butler said.

She said consultants meet with on-air talent at CBS21 at least once a year, talking about fashion, hair and makeup.

"They actually encouraged me to keep my hair long, which is a huge change," she said, noting that the industry standard used to be shoulder-length hair.

Lutz said she's noticed that even women anchors and reporters on network television are dressing differently, moving away from minimal jewelry and opting instead for statement pieces.

ABC27's Posteraro said she began to make changes to her on-air wardrobe after noticing that Diane Sawyer was doing the same.

"I'm thinking, 'she doesn't wear suits anymore,'" she said. "I really think I was one of the first anchors in the area to start wearing dresses on the air."

Posteraro said since making the change she has received a lot of compliments.

"The feedback was instant," she said. "I never got any type of negative feedback."

This isn't just a local trend, however. And it's not exactly new, either.

In 2012, a Washington Post article titled "The colorful evolution of newswomen's attire" contemplated whether or not the wardrobe changes were progressive or just an attempt for networks to get higher ratings.

The article also pointed out that stations in different broadcast markets may have differing opinions on what looks they prefer.

Fox43's Lutz said she's noticed this throughout her career. For instance, she said when she worked in Columbus she dressed more casually than when she worked in Charlotte where a more formal style was preferred.

CBS21's Butler said on-air fashion not only varies depending on the reporter's geographical location, but also depending on each station and which newscast journalists are reporting for.

"You're always following your news director's advice," she said. "They know who is watching and you tailor to that audience."

Dan O'Donnell, news director at WGAL, said he thinks the changes reflect the way fashion in the workplace has evolved over time.

"You see fewer suits in the workplace and more dresses so I think our folks are really just reflecting that," he said.

O'Donnell also stressed that the fashion changes also apply to men.

"The ideas are the same. It's just current [and] non distracting [looks]," he said.

He said the male reporters and anchors at WGAL typically still wear suits and ties while in the studio, but they may not do so while they are out in the field reporting. He declined to elaborate on what they would wear instead.

"There are different things that are appropriate for different environments," O'Donnell said. "For competitive reasons I'm not going to disclose exactly what we're doing."

WGAL's Lemon said the fashion consultant is just one of many consultants that meet with the station's employees in order to keep their on-air products "current and fresh."

Other consultants include experts in set design and graphics.

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