“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live and what is happening.” – Coco Chanel
At SMU, there are several students who have brought their own styles, inspirations and passions for clothes right to campus. With their own work experiences, business ventures, personal style projects and goals, SMU’s leaders in the world of fashion are not afraid to use Dallas as their own personal canvas.
So who are these fashion-forward ladies? How are they paving the way for fashion in Dallas and influencing the style of SMU’s campus? Look no further, because The Daily Campus is going behind the scenes of SMU’s most stylish students.
Jessica Jan, SMU Senior
Plano, Texas
Inside LF, a popular Dallas shopping spot, Jessica Jan is dressed to impress in a white and black striped bodycon dress and sneakers. Helping customers find what fits them well, Jan uses her fashion knowledge to help others look their best.
Jan first got involved in fashion during her childhood.
“I knew something was wrong with me when I would be late to school when I wouldn’t know what to wear,” Jan said. “My dad would write me a sick note so I could miss first period and pick out what I was going to wear that day.”
Jan has been busy ever since. With multiple internships and jobs in the fashion industry, Jan has developed her own style.
During her freshman year, Jan got a marketing internship with the Westbank Clothing Showroom in the Fashion Industry Gallery. She also worked with the Dragonfly Agency, a modeling agency.
Jan knew she wanted to pursue fashion as a career after her internship with Moda Operandi in New York City, where she worked as a fashion stylist and in customer experience.
“My end goal is to have my own business or my own company,” Jan said. “I want to do something that mixes fashion with styling and international waters. I think I want to move to New York after I graduate and try to be an artistic director or editor for a certain brand or house.”
What is the fashion staple that everyone needs? Well, according to Jan, it’s a simple pair of sneakers.
“You can’t go wrong with a pair of sick sneakers — not the running shoes, but Adidas or stylish ones.” Jan said, as she looked down at her feet to her white sneakers. “Everyone needs a pair of those.”
Jan is sharing her fashion tips with students and Dallasites alike through her blog “Ramen&Rosé,” which she runs with fellow SMU senior Chandler Helms. She also continues to help people with their own personal style at LF on McKinney Ave.
Chandler Helms, SMU Senior
Oklahoma City, Okla.
Chandler Helms has never been afraid to show her colors.
“I love to mix textures and patterns and color,” Helms said. “My biggest fashion icons would be Kate Spade and Mara Hoffman — colorful and really bright. Those are my favorites for sure.”
Helms said her love for fashion started at a young age when she would wear the “craziest outfits to school.” Helms even designed and made her own clothes when she was a child.
“I used to make dresses out of paper and stuff when I was younger, and my grandma taught me how to sew,” she said.
Her love for fashion didn’t stop there. Helms has held internships in Dallas and New York, working with local designer Abi Ferrin, Christian Dior and Rebecca Taylor in New York.
Helms currently works at the boutique Accents in Mockingbird Station, helping Dallas residents improve their fashion tastes.
“Dallas is behind trend-wise,” Helms said. “Trends usually start in Europe and then go to New York and then LA. We are slower on the trend end, but I think it is starting to get faster because of social media.”
According to Helms, there is still hope for the style of the city.
“Dallas definitely has its own style,” she said. “The weather is different here and we can play with different things that other cities like New York can’t.”
In the future, Helms plans to move to New York City for at least three to five years while working for a brand or as an international sales representative.
Something the average reader wouldn’t know about fashion?
“It’s not like ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’” Helms said. “Everyone is actually really nice and so welcoming in the fashion industry — everyone wants you to do well.”
Helms’ fashion product of choice?
“A good pair of shoes — they can change an outfit,” Helms said. “I wear my black booties everywhere.”
Helms can be found working on her new fashion app, working at Accents or working on her blog “Ramen&Rosé,” which she runs with Jan.
Jessye Bullock, SMU Sophomore
Birmingham, Ala.
Since birth, Jessye Bullock, who describes her style as “boho-chic with Carrie Bradshaw influences,” has known that her passion is fashion.
“As cliché as it sounds, I think I’ve always known what I wanted to do,” Bullock said. “Ever since I was capable of dressing myself, I did just that with little to no regard for what others may think, and that’s sort of been my motto since.”
And with her resume, it is obvious that Bullock has been working hard to fulfill her dream. She has worked as a model since she was 13 years old.
“I signed with a local agency in Birmingham just hoping to earn money for my private school tuition,” Bullock said. “I flew to Miami to meet with other agencies. I signed with NEXT down there but terminated that contract when it became too much. The next year I flew to New York and signed with Click NYC and stayed with them until I was 18.”
Bullock is not a stranger to the business side of the fashion industry either.
“I’ve worked with countless photographers, agents and actors. I have worked for local boutiques, a law office, an advertising agency as well as for places such as LF, Alice and Olivia and Suitsupply,” Bullock said.
Right now, Bullock is working as a brand ambassador for Suitsupply in its Dallas flagship. She also works in store and assists with marketing and PR events around town.
Bullock is also working on her own T-shirt line entitled “Dalifornia,” a name inspired by the large number of native Californians living in Dallas and attending SMU. The T-shirts can be worn anywhere: work, the gym or even a night out. The goal is to inspire women.
As for her fashion staple of choice?
“A good pair of pumps. ‘Give a girl the right pair of shoes and she can conquer the world,’” Bullock said, quoting the late Marilyn Monroe.
The most important thing Bullock wants readers to know?
The key to fashion success is knowing how to work with what you have.
“[Fashion] doesn’t mean being able to call Anna [Wintour] and get the latest outfit off the cover of ‘Vogue.’ Anyone with a rich husband can do that,” she said. “Style is about having $15 and going to a consignment store and making that outfit look like it should be on the cover of ‘Vogue.’”
Angela Vanderslice, SMU Junior
Memphis, Tenn.
Wearing a cozy flannel over a velvet dress, Angela Vanderslice radiated effortless “cool.”
Vanderslice came to SMU studying science as a pre-med student for a year and a half, but now she is getting back to her creative roots. She describes her personal style as “hardcore hippy.”
“My favorite color is black, but I still love the flare pants,” Vanderslice said. “I’m grungy, but also a flower child.”
Vanderslice, who currently works in a fashion showroom in downtown Dallas, has loved fashion since an early age.
“In elementary school, I used to draw wedding design sketches,” she said. “I was actually pretty good at it.”
Levels, the fashion showroom that Vanderslice works for, has three different locations in Charlotte, Atlanta and Dallas and carries about 20 different clothing lines. According to Vanderslice, a fashion showroom is the “liaison between the designers and stores,” with markets all over the country.
“The best thing about the markets is that you get to see all the buyers from different stores,” Vanderslice said.
Vanderslice said the importance of the buyers is that they are responsible for the trends that hit the stores every season.
“You are planning trends and buying for your stores months in advance,” Vanderslice said. “You are the trendsetters. You pick the fashions for the people, whether they like it or not.”
Vanderslice said that getting into the industry depends more on who one knows than what one knows, noting that people in the industry are nice.
“It’s healthy. It’s not about the skinniest and the thinnest — people mix up the modeling industry and the fashion industry,” she said. “I’ve met some of the most genuine people.”
When asked about her fashion staple of choice, Vanderslice makes one point very clear.
“It’s whatever you feel the most comfortable in. That’s the best thing to have in your closet,” she said. “And a rockin’ jean jacket doesn’t hurt.”
Nati Bru, SMU Junior
Miami, Fla.
As the editor-in-chief of SMUStyle.com, Nati Bru is no stranger to the SMU and Dallas fashion scene.
“My goal is to get into late night television,” Bru said. “So, I’m not exactly pursuing fashion, but hey, I do need to look good.”
Bru, who is majoring in journalism, knew that she loved fashion from an early age when she dreamed of being the editor of Teen Vogue in fifth grade.
“While that was completely unrealistic, it definitely pushed me to pursue a career in journalism with a passion for fashion on the side,” Bru said.
As SMUStyle.com’s editor-in-chief and Highland Park Village’s Brand Ambassador, Bru has delved into the Dallas fashion scene and learned how to dress to impress.
“I interned for ‘Entertainment Tonight’ and ‘The Insider’ over the summer and, while it wasn’t fashion-related, I felt a pressure to always look good, seeing as it was Hollywood and television,” she said.
What is Bru’s fashion advice for SMU students?
“Wear what suits your personality,” Bru said. “For me, I am nothing without a pair of black jeans. I also wear sunglasses more than I probably should.”
Bru can be found in SMU’s school of journalism, probably sporting all black and wearing her sunglasses indoors.
Make sure to keep an eye out for SMU’s finest fashionistas to see how they are making waves not only at SMU, but also in the industry itself.
