Jaclyn Lupe: Colonie’s Fashion Icon

D. Jones

March 23, 2023

(Colonie, NY) Most people would think giving birth in the middle of a school year would take a teacher out for the rest of the year; this was not the case for Ms. Lupe. Having her son, Adonis, in January of 2019, she returned to back school in May of the same year, in time to prepare her students for their upcoming exams. Ms. Lupe has always prioritized her students, and this was apparent when she was my English 11 teacher. She quickly became one of my favorite teachers, and people to talk to. I realized I related to her in many ways, but what I knew we connected most on was: our interest in fashion, which is what I wanted to explore more during our interview.

Students and staff of Colonie High School who know Jaclyn Lupe, know that fashion is her forte. What they might not know is family and Marilyn Monroe is what inspired her passion. She began to laugh uncontrollably as she reflected on her old fashion sense while visiting malls with her aunts. “I would always go with them and pick out like the slouchy, scrunchie, socks with the scrunchies. Everything that now is back in,” she said.

As a child, Ms. Lupe grew up with a younger brother who mutually shared an interest in fashion. She recounted always being gravitated towards fashion, even when she knew nothing about it. Her earliest memories of fashion being simply styling and matching clothes. However, as she grew older, the time she had to spend exploring fashion decreased. She explained how she was really into school during highschool, almost fixating on it. But when she began a paper on Marilyn Monroe in college, everything changed.

The Marilyn Monroe piece she wrote was about the impact of society on her from a mental standpoint. As the piece inspired Ms. Lupe, it wasn’t until looking at pictures of Monroe she discovered her style. Marilyn Monroe’s understanding of fashion and her influence became apparent to Ms. Lupe as she was fascinated in her choices and fashion risks. This was the turning point in Ms. Lupe’s admiration towards fashion.

In the past 10-15 years, she began to act on her interest, and her wardrobe really began to grow. She referred to herself as a guilty pleasure shopper, which she admitted is more used for shopping for her son instead of her. Now, living in a house with her fiance and her 4 year old son, Adonis, she has a walk-in closet in her bedroom, and another walk-in closet in their shared office, that she uses as her additional closet. Meaning, she has two closets to herself. She explained how eventually when Adonis grows older she will give him the office closet, leaving her with only one. We joked and laughed about her needing to switch her clothes out seasonally as she added, “I’m gonna have to have bins in the basement!”

As we spoke about the enormous amount of sneakers her fiance has, over 100 pairs of Jordans alone, I delved into the question of asking which clothing item she has the most of, to which she seemed to think hard about for a couple of seconds before shyly saying, “Comparable. All of it?” But, she finally concluded that accessories hold the most space in her closet, because she’s had some for so long but she still adds to their collection. She informed me that she doesn’t mind spending the extra money on clothing items if she will get the better quality and longevity out of the pieces. Further adding, that because she does enjoy fashion so much, she doesn’t mind spending the extra money saying, “If I wanted something, I would just save up for it and know that I’m making an investment, and be okay with it.” Giving me more advice to feed my own shopping addiction of, “Just one, you have to have just one,” when referring to designer purses.

Julianna Gigiello, fellow English teacher and friend of Ms. Lupe for 6 years, has her own admirations in regard to Ms. Lupe’s fashion sense.

“She always looks on point, and makes me want to elevate my wardrobe. She is the most deserving of the best dressed teacher superlatives,” Gigliello said.

Ms. Lupe concluded her interview by explaining deeper into how her son has more clothes than she did as a kid. She expressed how she would support him if he wanted to expand his own wardrobe further with his own interest in fashion; though, it will be pretty clear where he got that interest from. It could also be a full circle moment for Ms. Lupe if her son shops with his uncle, just like she did as a kid.