What's Judy Woodruff Wearing?

Escada Again!

We have noted that Judy often gets gussied up for Fridays. This Escada dress is a special-occasion favorite. Yamiche honored Judy by wearing a knock-off when she started hosting Washington Week. They both looked lovely.

At the beginning of Monday’s show, I thought Judy had assembled another sweater set herself. Doing so is not her strong suit, so to speak,. Later, there was a longer shot and lookee here, what a lovely bolero jacket and dress!

This is a very flattering cut on Judy.

Perhaps in response to our criticism, Lisa has been playing it safe. Nothing really wrong with the below. She still loves her gold hoops, unfortunately. The tortoiseshell glasses suit her. May be early for a turtleneck, but this is a mock, so we will give her a pass.

In my new effort to cover men’s fashion – and here I need all the help I can get – Judy served up a nice collar juxtaposition on Friday. Capey chose a fashion-forward spread collar, while Brooksie sported his go-to preppy button-down. I prefer a collar a little larger than Capey’s but it wasn’t a total miss. That bookshelf is way too curated (to use a sickeningly overused word) for this blogger.

Most Improved Reporter: Tam!

Nice look! This could still be the black blazer over the blue dress that I criticized, but here, paired with an interesting necklace, it works. Her hair looks lovely and her earrings do not clash with the necklace or outfit. I guess I like the blazer/dress combo this time because I am not seeing it from the side? Fickle are the ways of the blogger…

Architects are cool. Landscape architects are cooler. Even without the caption, you knew Julie was an architect, didn’t you? She is sporting the must-have heavy black frames and the carefully-cut yet careless-appearing short bleached hair. Cool segment on repurposing waste sites into parks.

Questlove is having a moment and well he should. More heavy black frames. He is so cool. Love the denim-patched denim shirt. As background, Questlove, nee Ahmir Khalib Thompson, is a musician, songwriter, DJ and overall hip guy who recently debuted as the director of Summer of Soul, about the Harlem musicfest in 1969. It was called the “Black Woodstock” but it never got any publicity outside NY. Questlove is changing that.

Anyway, Questlove is cool, he dresses cool and he’s all the rage, even on the cover of this Sunday’s New York Times Magazine:

Groovy.

Oops! She Wore It Again!

With apologies to Britney Spears (free Britney!) and her song, “Oops! I Did It Again,” on Wednesday, Judy wore the dress that launched a thousand comments. This dress never gets old. How much fun is it to try to guess the motifs on this Victoria Beckham number? A LOT of fun, that’s how much fun it is.

Alert reader Joanna from Canada spotted the same dress on an anchor there just the other day:

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, my dear.

Lisa played it safe with a black dress to face off with Judy yesterday:

Speaking of face, Lisa was wearing a pair of perfectly fine tortoiseshell frames. The lipstick I could have done without, but the gold hoops didn’t clash with anything, and that’s progress.

Yamiche continued to stretch her fashion boundaries on Monday with this print under a jacket. Worked for me:

How does she always get her makeup just right? I bet she feels so grown up having Washington Week now and all.

I do want to comment on the guys, especially William B., I do, but I don’t know what to say about yesterday’s outfit, for example:

Nice tailoring? Like the tiny collar? Well, I don’t like the tiny collar. So there. The tie’s nice though.

Help, me out here, please!

Res Ipsa Loquitur

First-year law students learn the Latin phrase “res ipsa loquitur,” meaning “the thing itself speaks,” or “the thing speaks for itself.” It’s a fancy expression usually used in the context of negligence, as in: a piano falling from a window and crushing someone is sufficient evidence by itself of negligence.

So many titles ran through this blogger’s head for this image. “Ay Matey” first among them, but that was too obvious. “Seeing Stars” was another, but I think Res Ipsa Loquitur lends a touch of dignity to what was the most undignified moment this blogger has seen on Judy’s show.

Res ipsa loquitur = the patch speaks for itself.

Alone, and with nothing else to support it, we can conclude that Lisa does not yet know how to choose her wardrobe.

The patch could not go without comment, so Judy gave Lisa an opportunity to explain.

Lisa said she had “run into a car door.” Let’s take that on its face. She said she needed to slow down. I feel bad that Lisa hurt herself. I do. It must have been scary. Eye injuries are nothing to mess with.

But why not choose a plain eye patch in simple black? Let’s not forget that this starry monstrosity took work.

Why not simple black, Lisa?

Was this supposed to be “cute” or “fun”? Judy doesn’t do cute or fun. How is it that we viewers know this and Lisa does not? It’s not that Lisa doesn’t care with Judy thinks. I have always thought Lisa cares very much what Judy thinks. Lisa just needs a guiding hand.

Let’s turn to other wardrobe choices from last Thursday…

Judy looked swell in a long sweater set. Understated, yet elegant.

Yamiche wasn’t taking any risks, and that’s ok. Lisa took more than enough for everyone.

I like Yamiche’s white eyeshadow and nails here. Also the glossy lips.

Lisa looked darling in her interview segment:

I think she gets nervous around Judy and tries too hard. When she’s out of the studio, Lisa looks like a normal person, better dressed, even, than the average reporter on assignment:

So we know she can do it.

Fun with Latin!

Supporting Roles

Let’s spotlight our best supporting anchors:

I love that Yamiche took a gosh darn risk with this outfit. We can disagree about whether she was successful, but I love her in the pink. The puffy tulip sleeves worked for me. ( See below.) Bravo for passing over those same-old-black tops.

Amna has branched out successfully, too, and I couldn’t be prouder. Personally, this blogger would never have paired purple with purple (not least because it’s color of the hometown football team, for which I do NOT root), but it worked on Amna. Note the perfection of her hair length.

… And she did it again with this puffy-sleeved patterned dress. I don’t know WHEN I’ve seen Amna in a print. She took a risk with the earrings and I think it paid off.

Then, there’s Lisa. All you readers out there (I”m damn proud to be up to 70 followers), I like Lisa. I do. That’s why I am trying to help. The hair is out of control and she cannot accessorize to safe her life. Or, it turns out, dress herself.

Here, she pairs new sliver frames with those big gold hoops she favors and a gold necklace. Although our blog skews old-school, there is nothing forbidden about wearing silver and gold together, per se, unless it doesn’t work.

It doesn’t.

Lisa even has trepidation about her accessorizing:

Yes, the frames are silver, not gold.

Last night was an epic fail by Lisa.

An. Epic. Fail.

Where did she find this shirt? 1985? And oh sweet mother, is that a jumper she’s wearing? Why yes, it is. a jumper. On Judy’s show, no less. And I don’t mean “jumper” in the British sense of “sweater.” I mean jumper in the I’m-playing-a-third-grade-art-teacher-on-TV way. (Props to Mr. Blogger for that.) How did she pass Capitol security in that getup?

For a break, let’s go back to Judy, who has been doing her part for the environment by recycling our old faves, including this number by Victoria Beckham. I love that we still cannot identify the motif. My favorite guess came from a reader who said it’s Lucille Ball’s head. Nothing like an enduring mystery.

Plain and simple looked good, too:

The outfit of the week goes to Nancy Pelosi, who is shocked to have won, or is that just one nip-and-tuck over the line? Regardless, I love this jacket. Note the fringe lining the front opening.

I’d like to close with a public service announcement: if you are eligible for a shingles vaccine (and you probably are if you are reading this blog) — get it. Shingles sucks.

See you back here soon!

Lovely in Lilac

On Monday, Judy wore this lovely shade of, we’ll call it lilac, to permit us a snappy title.

She doesn’t look happy to have a close up, below, but the earrings worked with her eyes and the outfit:

Some of us have made rather, well, verging-on-unkind comments about Judy’s hair. It is this blogger’s duty to point out that, as of Monday, the color and the shape are looking great. No more strawberry; either the filters (thanks, Reader Gary) or the hairdresser has moved toward the blonde, to good effect. See how nice the back looks. Wonder if she’d ever dare to go gray?

Oh, Tam. A black jacket does NOT go with everything. It does not go with a red-and-blue dress. One cannot simply throw a black jacket over a dress and call it an outfit.

Mr. Blogger thinks I am being hard on Tam, because she’s a journalist who focuses on her work, not her clothes. Two responses: (1) SOMEONE has to focus on her clothes; and (2) we here at What’s Judy Woodruff Wearing are here to help Tam improve.

In this blogger’s fantasy someday, someone will point Tam gently in the direction of our blog. Just think of the good we could do! Tam, that dress looked just fine without the blazer, not too summery at all. If the studio was chilly, tough it out for your segment. Judy wore short sleeves for the whole show. Still, look at that cutie pie face.

Wait, did she paint her nails all funky and shit? That does not work with Judy’s show. Take a cue from Judy and wear clear polish if any at all.

By contrast, Amna looked lovely. She departed from the shell-and-blazer humdrum into a burnt umber (thank you Crayola for that crayon) for fall. The puffy sleeves are very 80’s-cum-2021. Love the accessories, too. Makeup complements the outfit. A perfect 10.

Even Bernie got gussied up for Judy. His hair’s all brushed (or patted down), he’s wearing a nice blue suit with a blue shirt and rep tie. Too bad he’s sound asleep. Looks like he’s dreaming of universal healthcare.

He even accessorized, I believe with a 117th Congress pin:

Really a big improvement over his inauguration outfit, fun as that was. I cannot see him without thinking of this meme, by Reeezy@MsReezy:

Bernie dressed like the inauguration is on his to do list today but ain’t his whole day.

Bernie Sanders inauguration memes are liberal comfort food - Vox

Great to be back with you!

A Bit Ho Hum But Still We Love Her

Mostly Judy has been going with tried-and-true, see Akris, below. Really suits her.

This look is nice, too, though not as punchy. Dig the orange stripes:

I guess it’s freezing in the studio. Plus which Judy doesn’t have much, er, insulation.

This blogger has long wondered if it’s ok to wear a jacket open that was designed to be worn buttoned. On Tuesday, Judy raised the issue for our collective consideration. These extra-large rouleau loops (I don’t know the technical name for giant button loops) call attention to themselves in maybe not a great way. I like the pattern on the jacket, and the color, and the nehru collar, but maybe not everything all at once on top of an orange jersey dress. I think those are black pearl earrings, which always look smart, but they do nothing to pull the look together.

I imagine she had the jacket on the back of her dressing room door, to throw on when she was chilly.

I don’t think I have mentioned it before, but I dig Judy’s Flair pens. Once in a while, we catch the younger female journalists using this classic old standard, perhaps as an homage.

Judy was out part of last week, and the fashion-o-meter trended down. I don’t know what Amna’s dress was supposed to do. I could see myself trying it on, imagining that it would make me look like I had a waist:

But no sale.

The next day, while Judy was still “away,” Amna reverted to a more flattering but so boooring I’m-going-for-my first-job-interview look:

Amna had great hair though!

Despite looking a lot like the guy in the Downy “half-washed” ad:

Roby Chavez was covering an important story. We’ll give him a break because it was close to 100 degrees in Louisiana yesterday with no power or water.

On an unrelated note, this blogger cannot wait for the next season of Succession to begin:

Succession' to begin filming Thursday at Great Escape | Local | poststar.com

Not one redeeming quality amongst the reprehensible lot, but great clothes and I can’t get enough of that show. Here’s an old but good article on the clothes, from The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-and-off-the-avenue/lets-talk-about-the-clothes-on-succession.

As summer draws to a close, at least we can look forward to some new fall ensembles from Judy!

Thanks for reading!

A Rare Misstep

All praise and gratitude to Judy. There I was, feeling blue and uninspired, having just launched my firstborn in college. What was the point of it all?

Then Wednesday happened.

What the?

One can only surmise that Judy took our advice about not baring arms, but why chartreuse?

Why chartreuse, I ask you?

Why why why?

I hadn’t seen the underlying dress before and it’s just fine, but…

why chartreuse?

Previously, Judy hadn’t had a miss in a long while. Witness this lovely orange shirtdress:

Or this orange sweater set:

Or the tried-and-true Akris:

I can only hope Judy wanted to give us something to talk about

Boy did she.

Moving on, Lisa needs to cut her hair to just brushing the tops of her shoulders, in this blogger’s view.

Too much hair is not pretty.

Addams Family Cousin Itt - Addams Family Photo (5684028) - Fanpop

Very recently, Lisa wore this clearly-fall outfit in the swampy humidity of DC. Looked out of place and must have been uncomfortable. What was up with the dragon pin?

Lisa did better with red, white and a simple gold chain.

But I do find all that hair to be a distraction:

Name one good thing to come out of this Afghan debacle.

Jane Ferguson and her reporting. (reportage?) That’s one.

Not only is she lovely:

But she dresses appropriately for the country, and fearlessly reports on the chaos, all the while tenderly grasping a tribble about the neck:

That tribble looks like a cousin to the one in Kirk’s left arm, below:

Tribbles - Tribbles from Star Trek - Tribbles Math Problem

So fun to see Katie Ledecky in all her glory. What a cutie pie.

The CA wildfires are no joke, but neither is Judy. How much nudity can The NewsHour take?

Pay her some respect, please, Mr. Shaves.

As this is a family blog, I have selected an image that (mostly) covers his nipples. If you watched Judy, you were not shielded from the full frontal effect.

We just have time for a shout out for a good-looking office. Love the houndstooth wallpaper and the bullfighter (or is it Don Quixote) poster to Joanna’s left. Note the Eames chair to her right. That plus her cool glasses and hair makes this blogger want to hang with her.

Welcome to my new followers! Glad you have joined the ride.

Red, White and… Nude?

Last Friday (July 30 already), the theme was red and white, as Judy dressed for her guests and, I hope, us, in a familiar red-and-white dress:

Her guests respectfully followed suit, as it were.

And you thought ties were passe. Keep reading.

First we had Dr. Ashish Jha, the dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health, in a tie complementary to Judy’s dress that, apparently, he just learned to tie all by himself.

Good on you, Dr. Jha!

Next we had our own Nick Schifrin, who looked to be in a real honest-to-goodness suit and a red-and-white tie: It was a dandy look for our ordinarily boring friend:

To this blogger’s immense relief, Jonathan Capehart was “away.” Never quite sure what that means, but I didn’t see him in Bethany or at Funland in Rehoboth last week.

Nothing personal against the guy; he just doesn’t provide enough historical context for this old gal with a lot of history behind her.

In his stead we had old friend of Judy, EJ Dionne. He too donned his red-and-white cravat for the occasion:

But I know all we care about is the “nude” part of today’s blog headline.

Well, reader, Friday had it all, or should I say, “nothing at all”? You be the judge:

I don’t know what’s going on at the WHO but evidently keeping up with Covid has taken a toll. Maria van Kerkhove, the WHO’s Technical Lead for Covid, hadn’t gotten the red-and-white memo, or perhaps, finding nothing red and white in her closet, she decided to scrap the whole clothes thing entirely.

Lucky us!

Of course, Judy played the whole clothesless thing off like a pro, not even asking Maria for the naked truth. Groan.

RIP Carl Levin, the only truly good man and public servant who could pull off a comb-over. Almost.

About once a week, a reader asks me to name the designer of one of Judy’s outfits. I cannot do this without your fine detective work and sartorial savvy. Most recently, Ashley commented on the “Green with Envy” post that Judy’s green outfit, below, was Akris.

This blogger loves Akris (from consignment, natch).

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img_3473.jpg

Available to you for a mere $3,490. Judy’s worth it.

Ashley hit a double as she identified what I refer to as Judy’s Mark Rothko outfit. It’s a dress, also from Akris. It’s on sale now for a mere $996:

I couldn’t do it without you!

Lost in Space

On Tuesday (July 20), Judy wore her zippy-doo outfit which I dig. The snaps and zippers are groovy. It’s like a kid’s activity toy.

Reader note: By no stretch of the imagination am I comparing Judy to a zebra.

Or was her top an homage to Jeff Bezos’s fuckin cowboy spacesuit?

What a moron.

Has there ever been a bigger loser?

VAN HORN TEXAS JULY 20 Jeff Bezos walks near Blue Origins New Shepard after flying into space on July 20 2021 in Van...

NOPE.

I don’t care how much moola you have, Jeffy. Your’e not Chuck Yeager. Not even close.

Yeager Statue Dedication | General Chuck Yeager

At first blush, Lisa had a good outfit, but was this some kind of poly jersey dress? Looks like neon-’90s club wear. She should know by now to plan for the mic to pull at her outfit. Judy plans for that. Judy plans for everything. Why? Because Judy’s the pro. Not at all like that piker, Bezos. What an ass.

Judy looked snappy last week with her beige-and-orange number. Again, I love the sleeves to the elbows. Nice look. Yes, she has the pipes to pull off a tank, but you and I have discussed that.

So she wore a new outfit on Friday. Kind of a sea foam green twinset. I like the cut and length of the cardigan the the neckline of the shell underneath. I guess if I had to criticize (and I don’t), I would say she is slumping slightly in this picture. But who among us doesn’t slump once in a while?

I am on vacation next week. Maybe I will run into Judy at the Delaware beaches? A person can dream, can’t she?

We’re Green with Envy!

Judy looked fabu in green last night. Love the vertical stripes – not that she needs a slimming effect, mind you. The sleeve length is just right to this blogger’s eyes. Right at the elbow is perfect.

Her hair is the perfect length now. Keep it that way, Judy, if I might be permitted to make a suggestion.

Here’s a horizontal view of the outfit, just to be comprehensive:

Lisa-Lisa has upped her game, to the relief of millions. The hair color seems to have settled on a reddish-brown. With this look, she remedied the problems seen earlier in the pandemic. Not too brassy. The soft look, rather than the hot-roller look, suits her face best. Really nice job with the hair.

Lisa hit a double-double with the hair and outfit, in fact. This blogger wonders why she doesn’t choose from this side of the closet more often. So professional and becoming. Also going with vertical stripes, we note.

Thanks so much to my commenter-friends (so many hyphens in this post) for noting that Judy is perfectly capable of wearing the same outfit (here with reference to the blue/white/yellow dress or top that looks like it hasn’t been fully colored in) more than once a month and look great doing it.

Of course, you are reading the work of a biased writer. In my view, Judy could wear this and look great:

Nah. No one could.

Keep the comments coming!