Lately I've noticed that the anchors on the local news station I watch are color-coordinating their outfits.  If the woman wears a blue blouse or jacket, the man dons a blue tie in a closely-matched shade.  Pink, red, silver, same thing.  One evening they went so far as yellow with black dots -- woman's jacket and man's tie a virtual match.

Yes, I believe that the woman's outfit dictates the color choice and not the other way around.  There's no way the ultra-serious morning anchor woke up and said, "I think deep coral is the way to go with my gray chalk-stripe today."

At first I thought it was coincidence, but after several days of observation, I can tell this is planned out and executed by the wardrobe department.  What I can't figure out is why.  Do the executive powers think this promotes an image of greater team work?

I look at the two of them and think, "Prom night."

We didn't have a prom at my high school.  I graduated from a prep school where the boys outnumbered girls 4-1.   While girls will dance with each other if they don't bring dates, that's never been the thing for straight men, you know?  So, I was in college before I attended my first formal school dance -- which happened to be my sorority's spring formal.  I wasn't dating anyone at the time, so I asked a good guy friend of mine to escort me.  Bless his heart.  He found a ruffled tuxedo shirt that nearly matched my baby blue gown.  (Hey, it was the late 70s.  Men still wore ruffled tux shirts!)

I'm always surprised when I see any couple coordinate their outfits -- unless they're ice skaters, ballroom dancers, or on the same bowling team.  Every once in awhile, I see an older couple of tourists dressed in matching tropical shirts and shorts.  Is that unity, or are the shirts so loud that they only way they can avoid clashing is to wear the same pattern?  I'm all for unity in a partnership, but I draw the line at his and her bright green palm trees and hula girls.

For some reason, the color-matching distracts me from what the reporters are actually saying.  During the whole P.H. in Lock-Up debacle, this was a good thing.  Now I'm torn between wanting to see what they'll come up with next -- like is it possible to find a man's tie in the exact shade of key lime -- and hoping they'll return to individuality in wardrobe.

Is this a trend in news broadcasting?  Anybody else notice this on your local anchors?  Please observe and report back to the rest of us.