Michael Spasari, a junior history and secondary education major, teaches seventh graders at Grant Middle School throughout the school week. Unlike the other male teachers who wear polos and khakis to school every day, Spasari goes all out with his outfits.

“We’re instructed to look cleaned up and professional, but I make every effort to look stylish. I don’t give up just because I’m going to work,” Spasari said.

On a typical day, he will wear a button-down from American Apparel or Banana Republic, one of his 50 ties, and he’ll top off his outfit with a pair of fashionable boots.

As an American history teacher, Spasari is very strict about buying and wearing American labels. His favorite brands include American Apparel and ISAORA. Not only does he shop for American brands as a way to support creating jobs for U.S. citizens, but he also believes the quality of American-made clothing is better.

When Spasari is not teaching, he loves to work on his online fashion magazine with his best friend, a stylist based in Los Angeles; the two of them created an online style publication on Glossi. Spasari enjoys keeping up with trends, and promoting his favorite looks in his section of the magazine.

After keeping up with New York Fashion Week, Spasari incorporated ombre, geometric patterns and leather trends into the “March Forward” issue of his magazine.

Spasari said there is a fine line between trends and fads. When fashion items start to become overdone, the look quickly becomes tired. For example, Spasari believes that Ralph Lauren Polo has become a fad, and encourages people to move past it.

Rather, Spasari said people should incorporate what inspires them into their wardrobes. Music is where Spasari draws inspiration from — he included a music section in his style magazine.

Spasari draws influences from hip-hop, and is wearing wax denim pants from ASOS and a graphic shirt from Barneys to incorporate hip-hop culture into his look.

Published on March 5, 2014 at 1:00 am

Contact Charlotte: cmstockd@syr.edu