Burrous then remarked to his female colleague that the cardigan over the dress "worked".
"It's a librarian who's going to a cocktail party," he said of the new look. "Everyone's got an opinion on your dress this morning."
Chan then explained that the reason she had to wear the black beaded number was because "the other dress didn't work" and it "keyed out" against the green screen.
Various viewers on social media called criticism of her outfit "sexist" and said there was nothing wrong with her dress in the first place. Some even referred to the incident as #sweatergate on Twitter, firing off a barrage of angry tweets to the station.
Burrous later responded to some of the tweets as the outrage continued to escalate, apologising to viewers and asking for "another chance".
Chan eventually addressed the awkward moment with fans on Facebook, admitting, "It became this big thing."
"I really wasn't offended," she said. "People are kind of spinning it and saying that it was sexist. ... I thought it was kind of funny. I think we just played into the viewers saying, you know, you should cover up, so he brought me over a sweater. But not offended, I don't think it was sexist, but that's just my opinion."
In a lengthy post on her personal blog, the meteorologist further explained:
"For the record, I was not ordered by KTLA to put on the sweater. I was simply playing along with my co-anchor's joke, and if you've ever watched the morning show, you know we poke fun at each other all the time.
"And, also for the record, there is no controversy at KTLA. My bosses did not order me to put on the cardigan, it was a spontaneous moment. I truly love my job, I like my bosses and enjoy working with my co-workers. Since talking to my team, I want our viewers to know it was never our intention to offend anyone. We are friends on and off the air and if you watch our newscast, you know that."
