Outfits Kaitlan Collins Wore On CNN That Totally Missed The Mark

Kaitlan Collins is everywhere lately. If she isn't throwing hardballs at Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt or being insulted by Donald Trump, she's hosting CNN's "The Source with Kaitlan Collins." In fact, she just might be the hardest working 33-year-old in the United States right now because of the rate she's keeping up with breaking news story after story.

Although her tenure at CNN has proven that Kaitlan Collins is the queen of the pantsuit, it turns out that she doesn't always hit it out of the park when it comes to her fashion choices. A perfect example of this is the time she wore a white hip-length jacket that both aged her and didn't flatter her style in May 2025. Not only did the jacket look cheap, but the green embellishments were really questionable — especially for someone of her age. Because Collins tends to look quite fashionable despite her career that demands she stick to a certain code of dressing, the jacket didn't seem to make sense.

Collins needs to look good on the screen and also wear things that are comfortable, in case she needs to run to the White House to cover a last-minute announcement or event. However, while her fashion game is usually pretty solid, there have been times when what she wore at CNN or on location for CNN that missed the mark. But if fashion icon and Calvin Klein model Brooke Shields has outfits that have totally missed the mark, then no one is safe — not even Kaitlan Collins.

In February 2025, Kaitlan Collins was in the East Room of the White House to cover the Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump news conference, wearing this cheap-looking blue blazer. While blue is a great color on Collins, when a blazer has decorative buttons for embellishment reasons only, it's rarely a good look — especially in a professional setting. Although Collins is somewhat restricted in what she can wear to work, when it comes to blazers, our favorite will always be the subtly bedazzled one she wore when she went full glam for her Bravo debut. That flashy look was one of her best.

For reasons we've yet to figure out, Kaitlan Collins wears a lot of turtlenecks. Of course, some of her job involves being outside, and staying warm is key — but she'd be better off with a scarf. Especially in this situation, where she's wearing a navy turtleneck with a loud plaid blazer that really strays from her usual ensembles.

It may have been October in D.C. when she filmed this video for CNN, but considering what Collins is capable of, fashionably speaking, there's no excuse for this outfit. She's also wearing black pants, which are bringing more clashing to the equation.

In February 2026, Kaitlan Collins was outside the Justice Department talking about the gigantic banner that Donald Trump had hung of himself. During her coverage of the banner, Collins wore a button-down denim shirt under a double-breasted, brown blazer with navy pants. As much as these colors go together in their own way, they're such random choices that it's hard to tell if Collins is trying out a casually chic look or if she just grabbed these three pieces and thought they made sense. It all just feels off-brand for her.

When Kaitlan Collins and Wolf Blitzer headed to the NATO headquarters in Brussels in March 2022 to cover the Ukraine talks, she again went for a turtleneck — but that's not the biggest issue here. Instead, it's the color of that blazer, which appears to be another Veronica Beard blazer like the blue one she wore in February 2025. Just like the blue one, the buttons serve no purpose except to be decorative, giving it a cheap look — and that green is basically diabolical. If it were a Kelly or forest green, it would be a different story, but this is somewhere between pea and lime.

In August 2018, Kaitlan Collins reported from the White House as the media was briefed on election interference. Collins, who usually wears some take on a suit or, at the very least, a blazer, did not for this occasion. Instead, she's wearing a sleeveless, cobalt blue dress made of a rather cheap-looking fabric. Had Collins worn this to lunch with friends, that would've been okay; but as a representative of CNN, it's missing the mark because it's too casual. In fact, the only way to get over this ensemble is to recall Collins' gorgeous black dress moments and never look back.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October 2025, Kaitlan Collins wore this neon pink pantsuit. While many people wear pink in October for this same reason, the neon here is almost blinding. It's one thing to have a neon manicure, like the on-trend nail polish colors of spring 2025, or even a neon accessory like a clutch or a few bangles; but head-to-toe neon, especially when you're on television, is just far too much. It wouldn't be surprising if some viewers changed the channel that night because the neon pink was so grating on their eyes.

On the flip side of neon pink is playing it too safe with colors when you're going to be in front of the camera. In February 2021, Kaitlan Collins covered Joe Biden's first town hall since he became president, and she took the homely route. Between the mocha-colored turtleneck, the camel-colored, double-breasted blazer that appears to be ill-fitted, and black pants, Collins looks like she's trying to blend in, as opposed to standout. It's a look that also ages her, because most people in their late 20s (which she was in 2021) simply wouldn't wear this outfit.

In June 2025, while covering the tiff between Elon Musk and Donald Trump for CNN, Kaitlan Collins looked like she was dressed for Halloween. Granted, we only have our culture to blame in how we tend to think of Halloween when we see orange and black together. But that being said, Collins should have known better and chosen either a different color blazer or shirt. Instead, it's hard to focus on what she's trying to say when her outfit just has people thinking of David S. Pumpkins.