Jasmyn Blackburn, aka Jazzy, 23, is living her dream life as a kindergarten teacher at a small school in Indiana. It’s everything she dreamed of: sequins, sparkle and smiles, lots of them. On her first day as a teacher, she walked in wearing a sequined apple dress. That’s certainly not one of the immediate choices for most first-year teachers on opening day. But Jazzy wasn’t trying to disappear into the background. She was trying to show her five-year-olds that their teacher loved school and that she was going to make it fun!“I once heard the term ‘dopamine dressing’, and it immediately stuck with me,” she told People. “If I see something that’s colourful, sparkly, fun and makes me smile, I’ll wear it!”
Taking dopamine dressing seriously
Blackburn’s personal style is simple. She wears clothes that make her happy. And that’s exactly what dopamine dressing is all about. Initially, her colourful clothes impressed the kids. Soon, others started to notice too. Nine months into her teaching career, she had earned nearly 600,000 TikTok followers who tune in to watch her get dressed for work. Her clothes are simply eye-catching. Think colourful fabrics, glitter, sequins and a refusal to apologise for any of it!In fact, her love for colourful clothes goes back to her childhood. She was nicknamed ‘Snazzy Jazzy’ in first grade for her fun clothes. During her teenage years, she wanted to fit in, and that’s when she went for a ‘normal style’. But then she entered the teaching profession. And here, colourful dressing wasn’t a problem. The young kids appreciated her style more than anyone else.“Now that I’ve found my career in teaching, I feel like I’ve found the perfect profession that allows me to dress for my inner child again,” Blackburn said.
Making teaching fun
Blackburn has a curated wardrobe for school. School-themed pieces dominate her collection, roughly 90 per cent, by her count. Teacher patches, sequined letters, apples, crayons and ABCs cover the garments hanging in what used to be a regular bedroom but is now her personal dressing room, painted entirely pink. “We actually have an entire room in our house that’s painted pink and serves as my closet and dressing room, so my wardrobe has definitely taken on a life of its own!” she said.Unlike during her teen days, showing up in colourful clothes at the kindergarten is no longer frowned upon. She could show up covered in sequins and school logos, and that is actually appropriate. More than that, it’s welcomed.“I love pieces that incorporate school themes because there aren’t many professions where you can show up to work covered in sequins, apples, crayons and ABCs, but in kindergarten, it just works!” she said.
The unique shopping experience
Blackburn has her own strategy for shopping for the right pieces for school. Queen of Sparkles, Sparkle in Pink, ReallyRexBoutique and Depop are some of her popular shopping destinations. And the ‘Queen of the Classroom’ collection by Queens of Sparkles has to be her favourite.“Their pieces are definitely an investment, but the quality is amazing, and with how much I wear them, they end up being worth it for me,” she said.Her most expensive outfit, a Queen of Sparkles polka-dot set with sequined patches, retails for roughly $400 combined. Her first-day-of-school dress cost $39. “I think that’s a perfect example of how you absolutely don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars to find a fun, memorable piece that makes you feel amazing,” she said.Now she buys more strategically. Maybe one special piece per month, and that’s enough. Her collection is now large enough that she can mix and match and rotate outfits without repeating them often. “I just see something fun and figure out how to make it work!” she says.But this wasn’t always the case. In the beginning, she used to shop frequently, once every week. She does not have children, so the remaining money after paying the bills goes towards clothing. “Was saving it probably the more financially responsible choice? Yes. But fashion is something that genuinely makes me happy, and now I have a wardrobe I can continue wearing and styling for years,” she told the outlet.
Thinking of building your personal wardrobe?
Fashion has practically become Blackburn’s second name. So, if you were to ask her for some fashion advice on how to bring more personality into your work wardrobe, she suggests starting with what you already have. Experiment with the colours.“You also don’t need 50 statement pieces to start dressing more fun. Find a few special pieces that genuinely spark joy for you and build outfits around them,” she said.For her, fashion is rather about how one feels. “‘Fun’ fashion is whatever makes you happy. The whole point is finding pieces that make you excited to get dressed in the morning.”And for Blackburn, it’s her colourful clothes. “I love sharing the colourful outfits, but I think what I’m really sharing is joy. If someone can find a little bit of happiness in seeing how happy I am about my outfit, my classroom or my students, then that means so much more to me than any number of views or followers ever could. I want to make the world a little more colourful and a little more smiley, one short video at a time.”
