EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
AS SHE SHARES HER FASHION SECRETS
ON STYLE ICONS, BEING IMITATED AND HER LIFE IN RHINESTONES
Few women in this world rock rhinestones and glitter like Dolly Parton. With her teased hairdos and tight, sequinned clothes, the Grammy-winning country singer and songwriter has created an image that is all her own– and now she has put pen to paper to share the secrets behind her signature look.
Speaking exclusively to HELLO! ahead of the release of her book Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones,, Dolly tells us all about her style influences – and what she makes of those who imitate her.
“I think: ‘Are you crazy? Are you sure you wanna wear that?’” says the 77-year-old multi-award-winning singer. “Actually, I’m always complimented when people say they’re doing this or that like me, because I’ve never – taking nothing away from any of the designers or the great people who work with me – thought of myself as a fashion horse or a fashion icon. I make jokes of that. “I just wear what I’m comfortable in and I feel prettier and better in some things than others, but if somebody wants to wear something I’m wearing, well I think that’s a great compliment. “And if somebody wants to write a song similar to something I’ve written, I think that’s a great compliment. If people imitate you, they say it’s a form of flattery.” While she is rarely seen not wearing a pair of highheeled shoes, the most expensive items in Dolly’s wardrobe are her show clothes, which include items by her long-time stylist Steve Summers and designer Bob Mackie.
“I’ve always been one of those people that don’t mind how much I spend on my costumes,” she tells us. “But I’m not the kind of person that would spend thousands of dollars on one outfit off the rack. I’m just country enough and still simple enough, the way I grew up, that I couldn’t imagine paying some astronomical price for one piece of clothing that I’ll probably wear once or twice a year.
“I have a lot of off-the-rack clothes that we kind of Dolly-ise through a little sewing shop that we have in town,” she adds. “If I want beautiful things designed for shows, then I’m willing to spend for that.
“And no matter what else I’m wearing, whether it’s casual or it’s fancy, I’m always wearing my highheel shoes.”
RAGS TO RICHES
Brought up “dirt poor” with 11 siblings in Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains, Dolly experienced a mix of emotions putting together her book, in which she shares for the first time the secrets behind her lifelong fa
