Fashion Knight of the Month: Jennifer Fernandez

The fashion student of May is…not a student, it’s a teacher: Jennifer Fernandez. We see that everyone expresses themselves through their fashion, including teachers. 

Fernandez On Fashion Expression 

Fernandez expresses her energy and mood through her outfits, finding that she dresses differently depending on the day. “I might have a ton of energy and I will wear an outfit that reflects that. Or I might be giving an exam and then I’ll come in more comfortable casual clothing. If there’s a lecture that day I’m wearing loud, vibrant colors.” Activity and energy drive her fits, and she hopes her fashion helps students pay attention to her: “I want to be a leader and I want to seek their attention during the lesson.”

Her style wasn’t always this loud, especially when she started teaching, the job often felt very restricting on fashion, “I feel that the job in and of itself initially mandated that we’d be very, very, very almost puritanical and conservative and how we approached the classroom and I could appreciate that–especially when you’re a younger teacher.” But as her career continued she grew more confident in her wardrobe, “The years went on, and as I grew in my career and my confidence, sort of accompanied those years or grew with those years. I took greater risks.” She believes that dressing up to teach a lesson doesn’t require you to restrict yourself. “I don’t think you have to live like a pilgrim to deliver a lesson. Likewise, you shouldn’t be sloppy, right?”

Fernandez On Being Fashionable 

A fashionable person is, “Anyone whose outfits sort of demonstrate that they took time and they thought about a color scheme,” says Fernandez on having good style. For her, being fashionable means being intentional as clothing can just be thrown on and not thought about, “Clothing is functional, right? But fashion is intentional.”

Fashion should be inclusive and unbiased when it comes to gender expression and dress code, according to Fernandez. “I certainly would love to see more gender equality with regard to dress coding and, females in particular, and the same would apply to LGBTQ+ students,” Fernandez wants people to feel free to express themselves however they like, as long as it’s “cool, clean, and decent.”