Next up in our “Real Women, Real Clothes” feature is Shannon Cogan, a force to be reckoned with in the news industry in the great state of Kentucky.
Currently serving as the evening news anchor for the NBC affiliate station in Louisville, Kentucky, Shannon has previously worked in Orlando, Dallas, and Miami as both an anchor and reporter.
She returned to her husband’s hometown, Derby City, to raise their twin boys around family, and it’s there where she caught our eye.
Read her story, and she how she styles several pieces in the new Draper James “Easy Pieces” collection, below.
What’s the best piece of life advice you’ve ever received?
“Always be your own best friend,” from my mom. It’s important to be kind to yourself.
Also, I remember early on in my career I was beating myself up over an on-air mistake and a photographer told me, “The good ones make mistakes. The great ones get over them.” And I always remember that. It’s true.
What’s the favorite part of your work day?
I am a naturally curious person so I love learning, and that’s what I do every single day.
I learn about new places and things in our newscasts. I love the process of putting together a great story, from interviewing people, writing the story, and then seeing the final product.
What do you do to give back to your community/people around you?
I am so excited about the project that my station, WAVE 3 News, started not too long ago.
We teamed up with some local organizations to help bring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to the heart of Louisville. This gets free books in the hands of children from birth to the age of 5 every single month.
Reading to my own kids (now 9 years old) each night is truly one of my greatest joys. And I’m so proud that my station is helping to build the personal book collection of local children and getting them ready to start kindergarten.
To learn more, go to: www.imaginationlibrarylouisville.com
What drew you to these particular Draper James pieces?
I absolutely love stripes. And the Sailor Stripe Ruffle Ponte Tee just can’t get any cuter with the bell sleeves. And the Ponte Pants are the most comfortable! These will be great for travel.
I also love dresses because they are so easy to throw on and then you don’t have to think of anything else. I’ll be wearing the Belted Magnolia Shirtdress a lot to church, brunch, and more casual meetings.
Tell us how you chose to style the Belted Magnolia Shirtdress.
I love a more relaxed look, and camisoles under button-ups seem to offer that.
Nude shoes of any kind always elongate the legs, too–especially important when you are 5’5″!
What’s the one thing you can’t live without?
The first thing I do after brushing my teeth is get myself a cup of dark roast coffee. And then a second one.
What’s your biggest challenge when it comes to dressing for your vocation? How do you overcome this?
The biggest challenge for me is that I’m on air five days a week; I need a big variety of clothes.
I’m lucky, my mother is an amazing seamstress and sews a lot of my dresses. So I get to pick out the color and style.
What’s the best thing about living in the South?
Truly, people in the South are the nicest people! I remember moving to Dallas, Texas and I couldn’t believe that people would actually let me into traffic!
And in Louisville everyone is your best friend. It’s a great place to live and raise a family. People in Louisville are very proud of their hometown.
Do you have a favorite “Southernism”?
I do love that saying, “The bigger the hair, the closer to God.” I’ve always been a fan of big hair!
But because my all-time favorite movie is “Gone With the Wind,” the saying “Well, I do declare!” isn’t so bad, either (and, in fact, I should start using that more).
Photo credit: Whitney Neal
