Vale Dolly Parton!

What an icon! Dolly Parton’s personal style was very distinctive and served its purpose well.

While her sparkling rhinestones were hard to ignore, the voluminous hairstyles and extreme heels lent her some height. She was petite (5 foot, I believe). Dolly understood what worked for her curvy shape and chose snug silhouettes with waist emphasis to enhance, not hide, her curves.

I heard her say in an interview that she began dressing the way she did when she was just starting out in her career in order to be noticed. Her thinking was that once she had the attention of the music industry powerbrokers, her undeniable talent would do the rest. But first she needed to be noticed, and as a petite woman in a male dominated industry, that was not going to be easy.

Once established in her career she was asked a number of times why she continued to dress the way she did and whether she minded people joking about her style (yep, those were the days!). She said she liked her style and, even if others made jokes at her expense, she was sufficiently confident in herself to ignore them. Dolly was switched on and her staggeringly successful career was proof.

Dolly altered her physical appearance through surgery and obscured her true beauty through heavy makeup; this was all part of her signature style. Having looked at early photos of her, even as a child, I believe she was naturally beautiful, and not unlike actress Yvonne Strahovski. Dolly never considered herself a beauty though, she said. She embraced wigs early on so that creating the elaborate hairstyles she was famous for was one less thing required of her pre-performance.

Personal style aside, the world has lost a great woman. By all accounts Dolly Parton was wise, talented, generous, fun, as well as principled. Perhaps the most fabulous thing about her was the establishment of her generous literacy program for children, Imagination Library. If only other mega-rich people were so generous. This stemmed from the value she placed on education due to growing up poor with an illiterate father. Despite her incredible success, she remained true to her values.

Vale Dolly Parton!