Jalondra Jones
The Cafe Brazil off the corner of N Bishop Ave and W Davis St was the perfect Sunday brunch destination. Initially, it was Jalondra’s idea to rendezvous at one of Dallas’s most unique and charming neighborhoods: Bishop Arts District. Known for its diverse nightlife and colorful street art, Bishop Arts District is a small shopping and entertainment district that filled with rich history, chic fashion stores and more than a handful of restaurants and bars to choose from to enjoy a house brew cider. The district’s streets can be filled with Dallas locals at anytime and it proves to be one of DFW’s prominent tourist attraction
As we take our seats, Jalondra shares her charming and youthful smile that can easily brighten up a room at any given time. My first encounter with Jones was when I became an employee at an Amazon warehouse in Farmers Branch. Like myself, Jones was there as a part time employee who needed a little extra cash. Despite the short lived stay, it was inevitable that we would eventually work together in some way. Sure enough, before our departure from the warehouse we collaborated on a photoshoot for her portfolio at the fabrication yard, located on the west side of Dallas
The 25 year old San Antonio native graduated from Texas State University in San Marcos with a degree in Public Relations and a minor in business and Spanish. Two days after graduation with nothing but her determination and ambitious spirit, she moved to Dallas to pursue a career as a Fashion PR with a job in retail awaiting her arrival. In the beginning, Jones started her journey with her entry into fashion blogging, then shortly after that she gave PR internships a try. She even signed up for retail management programs. During that time she started to attend local fashion shows. Jones quickly found herself behind the scenes meeting with various stylist in the area. After doing extensive research, her career path changed from Fashion PR to Stylist. Becoming a stylist came easy to Jalondra, it gave her the wonderful opportunity to express herself and exercised her talent in explaining why certain people look good in certain things. “ It’s like having OCD, I can look at someone and over analyze their entire outfit, that’s why I’m quiet sometimes” she laughs, “ It’s like I’m redressing you in my head.”
Shortly after, she joined forces with her former mentor and became his assistant. From there, she was able to get on more fashion shows and network with more people in the industry. “ You have to be the kind of person that is always meeting people and knows how to talk to people” she says, “ Business isn’t always about crunching numbers, it’s about how you handle a a situation and how you can make a sell.” Her relationship with her mentor was good while it lasted, as it abruptly ended due to miscommunication. Not long afterwards, she got signed to a local agency, which gave her a boost to grasp more opportunities. In her experience, being apart of an agency in Dallas is easier because it’s smaller compared to other cities like Los Angeles or New York, which gives more room to grow as a stylist. “ In order to become a stylist, not just an assistant, you have to be apart of an agency for a certain time because out here [in Dallas] it’s really about who you know. You really have to earn your stripes out here” she says, “ and being apart of an agency is a major plug”
Jalondra is very confident in herself when it comes to begin a stylist, so confident in herself and her talent that she would never speak on any other stylist in a negative way. “ What separates me from other stylist is simple; they’re not me” she expresses. She views styling in her own way, “ [Styling] isn’t just about outfits, it’s also about someone’s entire narrative on where they want to go.” Jones is also very personal and passionate about her work, “ I want to be able to evolve with my client, be there during their baby stages and set them up for success.'“ For her, fashion is more than the superficial, it’s about what is being put on the body that tells the world who that person is that day. “ To me, when I’m getting booked, I’m giving my whole day out of my life, not only to give what the clients want but to make me a better stylist as well.”
A dream job for Jalondra would be to work with any aspect of the Fenty line (she’s one of Rihanna’s biggest fans), athleisure wear brands like Champion or Puma and high end fashion lines like Milly, Monse or Christian Milan. She would love to shadow celebrity stylist Zerina Akers, Ade Samuel, Bryon Javar, Kelsey Ashley and Jasmine Benjamin. Jalandra really enjoys working with all of her friends and associates in the area, including musician Taylor Morgan and photographer Carlos Vincent.
Jalondra plans on hosting her own fashion show during the late spring season next year. She’s currently has a concept in mind and is building a team of models and designers and has hopes of combining live music performances as well.
