Most people wouldn’t think of history as an outlet for creative means. For Lisandra Altagracia Hidalgo, a 23-year-old Dominican-American William Paterson student, it is exactly how she uses history or historical events.

Her favorite music genres include Salsa, Bachata and Spanish Rock, which she attributes to her “cultural background since I am of Dominican descent.”

Hidalgo’s preference for British literature comes from an appreciation of history and it’s an influence on “real events and people that were here before, especially famous authors who have left [historical] context in the pieces of their writing.” she stated. It allows Hidalgo to use her creative nature to travel to another time and see what the world once was. British Literature and it’s fashion tantalized Hidalgo because “through clothes, we wear one can express who we are. [My] personal style is vintage because in the 21st century, everything [we] wear is a replica of centuries ago.” she added.

Hidalgo got her beginnings at Passaic County Community College, where she graduated and transferred to William Paterson University in 2017. From there, she declared a double major in English with a concentration in ESL and Secondary Education. She gravitated towards English and Secondary Education here at WPU because she loved “reading as a child; English was the only subject that I always did well in.” However, fashion and literature are not Hidalgo’s only passions.

“I always wanted to become an ESL teacher because I saw the influence my ESL teachers had one me. It inspired [me] to educate those who speak different languages,” Hidalgo stated, “Yet something inside [my heart] told me I was destined for more. I wanted to educate not just in a classroom, but the world on historical events and vintage fashion.”

“Then it hit me! I decided to combine both topics and educate people on historical events of every century, starting from 16th to the 21st century” Hidalgo added, after reading the classic Jane Eyre, the word “bonnets” popped out to her because bonnets are still used today. That was how literaturemeetsfashion.com was born.

Some of Hidalgo’s favorite courses since she started at William Paterson included “19th’s century women’s voices” “Images of Women: Modern Lit” “Grammar & Style” and “Understanding Human Language.” She used the first 2 courses for “the development of my blog because it had lots of [British Literature].” she commented.

In her blog, Hidalgo posts outfits from each historical time period, where she discusses the clothes and book she recommends readers to grab, so they could understand the fashion behind the novel. The blog, LiteratureMeetsFashion has featured books like Jane Eyre, Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing,  and Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol.

Hidalgo’s plans after William Paterson include teaching in Paterson, NJ either in ESL or bilingual either at a middle school or high school. As for her blog, Hidalgo wishes to continue to blog about historical events through novels and vintage fashion. She hopes her platform rises so she could collab with bookstores and retail stores, and to “get supplies for my classroom and teacher ‘fits, so I can inspire teachers to stay trendy!”