Ms. Lewis is the Avid 9 and Ethnic Studies teacher here at Chavez High. Next term she will add Black/ African American Studies to her schedule as well. I was able to interview her about her fashion. I claimed she is the best-dressed teacher at this high school, but she doesn’t claim to be. You can follow her Instagram @littylew.ed where she posts amazing photos.
Who/What made you interested in shoes?
“ I always loved shoes and I remember the first thing I bought when I got my first paycheck was a pair of these really crispy all-white Jordans. My dad always loved shoes and he will tell you it’s his fault but I think it’s been like I’m a product of black culture and hip-hop culture. It’s been a huge part of my experience has been everything has got to match and everything has to go together for me so I often end up building my outfit from the shoes up.”
Who is your favorite fashion icon and why?
“ My favorite fashion icon is Teyana Taylor Because she has managed to be both masculine and feminine at the same time just she is always super strong and like loud in her space but not in a negative way like you know when Teyana Taylor is in the room, but even in her masculine clothes she is always super feminine and I always really admired that.”
How would you describe your fashion style right now?
“ Right now it’s a combination of having to be a teacher so I have to be conscious of what I wear as well as street style and comfort. Comfort is the number one thing but street style is for sure. I try to mix as much street style into my teacher’s wardrobe as possible, but I try really hard to have a lot of street style because it’s the most comfortable for me and it feels the most natural.”
In your opinion do you think fashion influences the world? If so how much
“ Yes, and I think the people who create fashion are the influencers as opposed to the fashion itself, and often the people behind fashion don’t get the credit they deserve. I have a lot of friends from college who are currently designers and they make their own clothes like work on upcycling which I’m currently starting to dip into. I think that we do not give people enough credit for their personal creativity with what they choose to put on their bodies. I never thought it was the pieces, it’s always been the person who makes the clothes. Part of the reason I am comfortable in my clothing is because I’m comfortable in my skin which is something a lot of folks have a hard time doing so we put on these costumes and I feel like it influences people but it’s even bigger than that. It’s not necessarily that fashion influences people it’s more that we influence each other and we use fashion as a display of that influence that we have so I don’t necessarily know that I think that it’s just fashion. I think fashion is the many things that influence the world and it’s usually driven by people as opposed to the art of fashion itself and the people behind the art.”
What does your style say about you as a person? And when did you begin to love fashion?
“ I personally feel like my style is a combination of early 2000’s hip hop-hop, late 90’s RnB, and all around black culture but then also like HBCUs and collegiate importance because I need to have that in my classroom. I like the idea of talking about education in ways that are not what people are normally talking about. I have grown to really love fashion. I see it as a huge way to connect with y’all. It’s a huge way to connect with students and I take full advantage of that as much as I can. I’ve always loved shoes they are never going to leave, they are my favorite piece of clothing and so I’m always looking for something that’s different. I like to have things that less about nobody else has but things that are unique and speak to me I don’t like to have the same thing that everybody else has like the type of things I wear commonly like my dunks the black/white ones and the reason for that is Because they go with a lot of things but I really actually hate wearing them just cause everybody has them and I like to do things that stand out I use clothing to do that so it’s less about me loving fashion and more about like how I can demonstrate that I’m different from everybody else.”
What are your top 3 favorite shoes of all time? And what makes a great pair of Jordan’s
“ What makes a great pair of Jordans is the colorway if you don’t have a solid colorway or if the colorway is just why you put those colors together it is not going to work for me. I really like the Cardinals 7’s, Cool grays which are 11s, and I just got a pair of Teyana Taylor Jordan 1’s I wore on the first day of school and those are definitely up on my list.”
