Jen Pinkston
Ellen's Stylist

Ever since The Rachel Zoe Project aired on Bravo, it seems that everyone wants to be a stylist to the stars. Jen Pinkston will be the first to tell you — it isn’t all the glitz and glam you might think. As a wardrobe stylist for Ellen DeGeneres on The Ellen Show, Pinkston works over 60 hours a week. “You have to be willing to work really hard because a lot of people want your job, so you work the hours no one wants, be the one who will always go above and beyond and be the first person there and the last to [leave].”

As one of two stylists on The Ellen Show, Pinkston shops for just about everything DeGeneres wears on the 170 episodes that air each season. She was there on the day of DeGeneres’ wedding to Portia de Rossi (lacing up de Rossi’s dress) and stringing the Christmas lights around DeGeneres’ legs with Oprah for the cover of O Magazine. Pinkston’s favorite part of the job is getting to collaborate with designers, especially the up and coming New York designers like Rag & Bone and The Row. “I love that every six months, everything changes…trends are always evolving,” she says.

Pinkston is a graduate of UT’s Fashion Merchandising Program and moved to L.A. after graduation without knowing anyone. She started out as a buyer and then got a job working for a small accessory company. After nine months, she realized it wasn’t exactly what she thought it would be and heard through a friend of a friend about an opening at The Ellen Show. “I had nothing to lose. Before moving to L.A., I don’t think I knew what a stylist was, but after not even the first day, I knew this was exactly what I wanted to do.” On set at The Ellen Show also happens to be where she met her husband [Aaron Pinkston], who works on the show as a field producer (he surprised her with a proposal live on the show).

After working for DeGeneres for four years, Pinkston can usually tell right away if a certain piece is something she will like. “Ellen has amazing taste and great style, but more than anything she is a wonderful person to get to come and work for every day. Aaron and I are constantly reflecting on how blessed we are to get to do what we do and especially for her.”

While Pinkston’s time in L.A. isn’t up yet (she also works with private clients and recording artist, Greyson Chance), she and her husband both love Austin — they got married here and are open to returning someday. “Being successful as a stylist is really about getting to know the personal style of the person you are working with and knowing what is going to make them look their best,” she says. “It's not about dressing everyone the same according to current trends, but knowing what styles will work for them as an individual. It's ultimately about building a relationship and making your client feel beautiful.”

Caleb Bennett
Designer

Growing up in Del Rio, Texas, Caleb Bennett didn’t know what graphic design was, but he was always obsessed with sports logos and loved to redraw his favorite ones. He decided to pursue architecture as he looked around at colleges. “It seemed like the logical choice for the perfectionist who liked to draw,” he says. As he searched for schools, Bennett was introduced to communication design as a career option, so he “excitedly and nervously jumped in without a paddle” and started the program at Texas Tech, which he calls “the best decision he ever made.”

His first job out of college was at American Way magazine before moving to Texas Monthly. “It was two and half years of creating amazing things with amazing people [at TM] and being able to share your life with them at the same time. T.J. Tucker [TM’s Creative Director] had a huge impact on me as a person and a boss. Heck, they all did,” he says. “It was definitely a crucial point in my life so far. I left a family back in Austin when I left TM. What more could you ask for? And besides, nobody in Texas is disappointed I don't have an accent.” Last May, Bennett introduced himself to the New York Times’ design director at a magazine design gala in New York. “I thought it near impossible to position myself for it just yet. Being in Texas didn't help, and I was quite happy at TM,” he says. “He very unexpectedly called me four days later wanting to see my work, and the rest is history. I still have a hard time believing it and feel extremely blessed to have the opportunity.”

The highlights of his career at the Times’ Magazine thus far have been designing a few covers, contributing to the redesign of the magazine and acting as art director for a cover shoot featuring a Baylor basketball player. Bennett’s approach to design is to let his intuition lead. “So many things inspire me — people, opinions, light, confidence. Looking at a lot of design can often overwhelm me. I'm not sure if it's so much a response to the idea that nothing is original anymore (which I don't believe), but I just like to let my instincts guide me most of the time. Oftentimes wrong. I find a certain peace or integrity in that versus developing a library of starting points from things other people have done. I also find it extremely satisfying to find beauty in something ordinary or unexpected. So I tend to be inspired by those moments more than anything else — and happy accidents! They are often a turning point between good and great design.” At only 27, Bennett’s advice for other young people on the hunt for their dream jobs? “Don’t settle. Go after the places you want to be. Be passionate and have opinions, but be genuine and easy to work with! Most importantly, never forget where you came from or how you got there.”

Amber Elliott
The Fashionista

It didn’t take long for Amber Elliott to move up the ladder in a highly competitive field. She was interning at Brilliant magazine through her senior year of college at Texas State Round Rock and was offered an Assistant Editor position a week before graduation. She accepted, and the Editor had to leave suddenly…Elliott went from intern to Editor in the span of two weeks. “I was able to work with a truly inspiring group, discover my love for travel, plan some incredible events in Austin and most importantly, attend New York Fashion Week which ultimately led to my move,” she says.

Elliott (who is 25) decided to take a leap and move to N.Y.C. without a job late last year. But being the resourceful gal she is, Elliott quickly found a position in the fashion closet at Condé Nast Traveler. She helped with pulling looks for shoots and helped one of the editors and fellow Texan, Tiffany Gifford, on freelance styling projects, like dressing country music star, Miranda Lambert. She kept in touch with other contacts and quickly responded to an email that the Fashion Editorial department at Vogue needed help. She interviewed two days later and started in 2011 the way most aspiring fashion magazine junkies only dream of — with a job at Vogue. She helps Andre Leon Talley’s former assistant maintain the fashion closet in a role she calls “Jack(ie) of all trades.”

“It’s terribly cliché, but no two days are alike,” she says of life at Vogue. Recent highlights on the job include working on the Vogue CFDA (Council of Fashion Designer of America) Fashion Fund Alumni Show. “It was two and half weeks of 18 hour days, but I witnessed the production of a major fashion show [come] together from start to finish. Assisting Lawren Howell (Vogue Los Angeles Editor) with castings, fittings and finalizing over 50 final looks, all of which had to be approved by Anna Wintour herself, was a fashionista’s dream come true!” A close second to that had to be running over some last minute photo shoot items to Vogue’s Creative Director, Grace Coddington. “I walked into the studio [to] see Karolina Kurkova and then Coco Rocha posing in the background and had a total ‘Is this really my life?’ moment.”

As Elliott is working away in the fashion closet, she dreams of becoming a Market Editor while penning a small column on the side à la Plum Sykes. While she is definitely becoming a New York girl, thoughts of Austin often come to mind — “I fantasize about Kerbey Queso, Stuffed Avocados from Trudy’s and the Steak and Cheese Burrito at Chuy’s. My heart aches at the thought of missing ACL, SXSW or Bob Schneider and Jeff Plankenhorn at the Saxon Pub on Monday nights. Also, my best friends work at Union Park, so I was there every single day during my last visit for Bingo and Gong Karaoke. No one in New York can replicate their Frozen Mojitos!”