How Female News Anchors Nail Their On-Camera Looks
Let’s face it. Even at the height of perhaps the most colorful presidential race in the history of humankind, the evening news personalities covering the race aren’t really allowed to let their fashion flag fly. Network faces like CNN’s Dana Bash, ABC’s Martha Raddatz and Fox’s Megyn Kelly—the women who end up moderating presidential debates and appearing mostly evenings—just can’t get away with the style or grooming hijinks of pop culture or morning-show news hosts like Wendy Williams, Robin Roberts or Gayle King, whose favorite color is yellow. They have to keep the focus strictly on the issues.
“Women doing the news, especially politics, have to look stylish and in fashion but shouldn’t distract you because you should be listening to what they’re saying,” says Anne Sampogna, a TV hairstylist currently with Dr. Oz but with a long history in TV news, including styling for Jane Pauley and Ann Curry. “Most women anchors find hair, makeup and wardrobe they feel good with and vary it very slightly over several years.”
Her longtime colleague, TV makeup artist Michelle Cutler, concurs. “The goal is to make them look current but not over-the-top. Still,” she says, “anchors do want to look their best with a little bit of glamor, so you have to hit a happy medium.” Right now, says Cutler, “there’s a big emphasis on eyes and lashes–a quasi-Kardashian look. But you have to highlight either the eyes or the lips, not both, or they’ll look like a clown.” HDTV has also upped the game, says Cutler, because now every detail is visible, which has led to a general scaling back in terms of caking on the foundation or shellacking the hair to death.
Similarly for clothes, says TV stylist and style expert Lindsay Albanese, hard-news hosts really have to rein in the drama. “We’ll weave in colors and trends but with very clean, classic silhouettes. It’s not a fashion moment. It’s not an exciting styling job for me, to be honest.” Labels such as Banana Republic, J. Crew, Michael Kors and Black Halo are studio staples, she says.
We asked Sampogna, Cutler and Albanese to look at hair, makeup and wardrobe choices on eight top hard-news anchors or correspondents (some, admittedly, who do mornings as well as nights), to point out what does and doesn’t work, and to say how they’d dial up the looks without pulling focus from the content.
The Fox anchor, who rose to prominence on Election Night 2012 when she famously walked all the way from her own desk to the Fox “decision room” to confirm the vote in Ohio, has pulled off a rare (for her industry) and dramatic style transformation this year, from rather typical Fox blond-tressed bombshell in a tight minidress to sleekly coiffed, business-suited interrogator and adversary of Donald Trump during this year’s debates. The look pairs well with her new, more substantive public profile. Sampogna: “I love it. Now she’s saying, ‘Listen to what I’m saying, not what I look like.'” Cutler: “She’s gone from being just another hometown girl who got on Fox to short hair and a neutral lip that really features how beautiful she is.” Albanese: “Now she’s got that Victoria Beckham streamlined look with mass appeal. I might add a necklace with clean lines or a cuff bracelet.”
A former print journalist, Vega is ABC’s senior national correspondent and sometimes weekend anchor of the network’s World News Tonight. Her go-to look is a monochrome boatneck collar or blazer with a nontraditional lapel. Cutler: “She has a very nice look. I like the smoky browns and golds around the eyes.” Sampogna: “She’s got a straight-line-at-the-bottom bob with just enough fullness. It’s long but it doesn’t drag her face down. It’s great just the way it is, stylish and becoming but still makes you take her seriously. And it works in the studio or out in the field.” Albanese: “She’s doing a lot of cap sleeves and overall is very cautious with her choices. I’d add some menswear-inspired pieces, maybe a cute button-up blouse with a contrasting collar. No crazy ruching or bunching—that’s distracting. I’d love to see her in an army green, a rich purple, fuchsia and burgundy, a rust orange. She’s sticking to a three-color palette.”
ABC’s veteran reporter, whose deep knowledge of foreign policy led her to spar somewhat with Donald Trump during the second presidential debate (which she moderated with CNN’s Anderson Cooper), is all-business when it comes to her work look, barely veering from a somber-hued blazer. Cutler: “She can’t be over made-up because it wouldn’t work for her, so the emphasis is on bringing out the eyes with liner. She can’t wear a ton of eye shadow but she could benefit from a more colorful lip.” Sampogna: “Hair-wise, I’d keep the bangs but give her a long, layered bob to bring out her eyes more.” Albanese: “This is as basic and minimal as it gets, erring on the side of being dated. I’d stick to blazers but introduce more modern cuts, a geometric sleeve or a little trim or a zipper or some color blocking, maybe a shawl lapel. That could all breath some new life into her look without putting her in a crazy print.”
The anchorwoman, who’s spent her entire professional career at CNN, where she started as a producer, favors extreme simplicity in front of the camera, usually a monochrome dress with a boatneck collar or a dark blazer. Cutler: “She’s got a neutral, toned-down, taupe-y makeup look. She’s focused on doing her job. I might give her a little more color in the lips or a little more sparkle around the eye.” Sampogna: “I’d do a soft side sweep of hair across her forehead to bring more focus to her eyes and I’d cut her hair to just sweep the top of her shoulder. I’d give it some soft layers and blow-dry it with a good product and get it strong at the root by brushing it back there.” Albanese: “Some of her red-carpet outfits are a little bit fashion forward, but in front of the camera she’s being safe, conservative and appropriate. It looks like she’s playing with color a little bit but that’s it.”
MSNBC’s hugely popular left-liberal host abandoned her high-school blond hair and pearls for a boyish punk look in her twenties, but since taking on her own show in 2008, it’s been all about trying to find a happy medium between her genderqueer look and the traditional network heavy makeup and helmet hair. It appears she’s found it, with a ‘do that’s short but volumized and a mainstay black blazer with a scoopneck shell beneath. Cutler: “Her makeup is a very simple business look that plays up her eyes with liner and shadow and keeps a neutral lip. Her brows are very nice, too.” Sampogna: “I wouldn’t change her too much because that’s who she is. I’d maybe let the top part of her hair get a little bit longer with more volume–but not too pouffy!” Albanese: “She’s got a boy-next-door, understated cool that’s her signature style. Blazer-wise, I’d stick with her palette but I’d play with different textures and details. A satin lapel, a skinnier lapel, a double-notch or a shawl lapel, a zipper here or there, maybe a man-tailored collared shirt. She definitely needs a new batch of blazers.”
The dayside scheduling of this NBC and MSNBC anchor (whose duties include a portion of “The Today Show”) has likely played a role in her developing a reputation as one of the most stylish women in TV news. From her sleek and chic haircuts to her vibrant color palette to her body-conscious red-carpet dresses, Hall exists in a class by herself in the staid halls of network journalism. Cutler: “She’s got a strong, clean look, with an easy drama. I’m seeing a smoky eye, a neutral glossy lip, lots of earth tones and rich brown colors.” Sampogna: “Her cut is perfect. You see how great she looks but you still take her seriously. Dark hair reads as solid on camera so I like her hair best when it’s got some movement. But honestly, all her styles are current and smart.” Albanese: “She has a very refined sense of fashion. She’s found her sweet spot. She needs an element of fashion to every outfit, whether it’s in the color, cut or a belt or a piece of jewelry. I’m seeing what looks like Proenza Schouler, Alice and Olivia, definitely Michael Kors.”
O’Donnell, who cohosts CBS This Morning with Gayle King and Charlie Rose and previously was CBS’ chief White House correspondent, virtually restricts her wardrobe choices to the primary monochromes of red, blue and yellow–perhaps fitting complements for her auburn hair and piercing blue eyes. Cutler: “She has a Miss America look with very clean makeup, some peach and a medium lip tone. If you smoked up her eyes more with browns, they would pop even more.” Sampogna: “Her hair sits perfectly right above the collarbone and breaks at just the right angle below her cheekbone. It’s soft and becoming but you’re still looking at her, not her hair.” Albanese: “She likes structure–a strong sleeve, neckline. She needs to introduce a new color, though. Green would be gorgeous on her, a rich dark orange, a softer, more slate-y blue. Even a pinstripe in a dress. And how about separates? Pencil skirts and wide-legged trouser pants? It’s not all about a dress.”
One of the longest-working people in TV news, Mitchell is NBC’s chief foreign affairs correspondent, has a long background covering elections, and also has her own daytime news show on MSNBC. She’s also from the all-business school of work dress, favoring blazers or boatneck dresses in black or standard-issue Beltway political red. Cutler: “She likes a fairly sculpted eye with a light lid and color in the crease, plus a pink, glossy lip.” Sampogna: “Her hair looks best when it’s not too long and it has movement and softness. She’s not trying to look younger but she still looks stylish. And I like the highlights.” Albanese: “I’d love to see her experiment with different textures and fabrics. She wears a lot of the same matte textiles. Black paneling and fabric accents would channel a more style-conscious look while still being conservative.”
