  It is well known that tensor models for a tensor with no symmetry admit a
$1/N$ expansion dominated by melonic graphs. This result relies crucially on
identifying \emph{jackets} which are globally defined ribbon graphs embedded in
the tensor graph. In contrast, no result of this kind has so far been
established for symmetric tensors because global jackets do not exist.
  In this paper we introduce a new approach to the $1/N$ expansion in tensor
models adapted to symmetric tensors. In particular we do not use any global
structure like the jackets. We prove that, for any rank $D$, a tensor model
with two symmetric tensors and interactions the complete graph $K_{D+1}$ admits
a $1/N$ expansion dominated by melonic graphs.
