This new look suits her!<\/p>\n
When NY1 anchor Jamie Stelter returned to TV in January following the\u00a0August birth of her second child, a son named Story, the 38-year-old traffic reporter and \u201cMornings on 1\u201d co-host chose a fab on-air ensemble: a hot-pink\u00a0Theory pantsuit\u00a0paired with star-patterned Stella McCartney platform shoes.<\/p>\n
The splashy look kicked off Stelter\u2019s #TVTrousers initiative, with her \u201cwish\u201d that \u201cthe TV dress dies a slow painful death,\u201d as she writes\u00a0in an Instagram post\u00a0to her 15,000 followers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just felt to me like it was outdated,\u201d Stelter tells The Post of the ubiquitous garment in question: The slim-fit sheath in bright jewel tones such as teal, purple or magenta, worn by nearly every female news anchor because it pops on camera.<\/p>\n
Adv<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n \u201cEventually I had this wardrobe of dresses that I only wore a couple hours a day and then never wanted to put on my body to go out or do anything else in my life because it just wasn\u2019t me \u2014 it was some kind of costume I would put on for work,\u201d she says. \u201cThey say authenticity wins in TV and everything else about me is the same on and off the air, [so] why isn\u2019t my wardrobe?\u201d<\/p>\n Shopping, she says, is no longer a \u201chuge stressor\u201d now that she\u2019s experimenting with more menswear-inspired silhouettes, such as a navy blue\u00a0M.M. LaFleur pantsuit\u00a0with white-tone Tibi x Clarks shoes and bold Tanya Taylor plaid pants, all tailored to fit her 5-foot-1 frame.<\/p>\n Stelter says her decision to steer clear of sheaths came from the \u201cperfect storm\u201d of having a new child, the excitement of returning from five months off-air and a jolt of newfound confidence. \u201cI felt that I could wear what I felt most comfortable in,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s also about challenging the norm of what\u2019s expected of a female news anchor in 2020, beyond the sleek blown-out hair, bright dress and toothy white smile \u2014 something Stelter\u2019s colleagues are fighting for as well. Last July,\u00a0five female on-air employees of NY1\u00a0sued the network for discrimination based on age and gender. Later that month, two additional women who filled in at the station filed a lawsuit\u00a0alleging age discrimination. (Charter, the company that runs the network, has reportedly investigated the claims and \u201chave not found any merit to them.\u201d)<\/p>\n Although Stelter is not part of the lawsuit and wouldn\u2019t comment on it, she says she hopes her new style helps set a different standard for women on TV.<\/p>\n \u201c[It\u2019s] taking back a little of the power and feeling like I don\u2019t have to wear the dress that everyone thinks I should wear,\u201d she says. \u201cWe can wear a suit, too. We can wear pants, too. And that\u2019s OK! Not only is that OK, but it\u2019s celebrated.\u201d<\/p>\n Stelter\u2019s followers tag her when they see images of another woman on television shirking the TV dress, such as NBC News reporter Morgan Radford, who recently rocked a pink suit on \u201cThe Today Show.\u201d<\/p>\n\r\n \t
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