When it comes to fashion, there’s no one quite like Dolly Parton. Although she may be only five feet tall, she has a big personality matched by her flamboyant outfits. Over the years, Parton has had some unforgettable style moments, and she continues to slay as she edges closer to 80.
One of our favorite Parton-style moments happened recently when the “Islands in the Stream” singer took to Instagram to take her 7.2 million followers on a trip down memory lane by posting a photo of one of her previous looks. The pink country-inspired look is everything you could ever want (and more): an elegant neckline, a cinched-in waist, and more sequins than we ever thought could be added to one outfit! When Parton stepped out in this look, she would have sparkled, but then again, doesn’t she always? She paired it with her classic big blonde hairdo and statement earrings to complete her look.
To say we are obsessed would be an accurate statement (although we would never be brave enough to replicate this outfit), but we are not the only ones. The comment section of the post has been flooded with comments from excited fans wanting to share their opinions. The star captioned her post with a simple message: “The way I look is just a country girl’s idea of glam.”
Fans react to Dolly Parton’s sparkly glam outfit
So, what have fans been saying? “There needs to be a Dolly Parton Barbie,” a fan wrote — they’re right because Parton looks like she was channeling Barbie with her hot pink attire. “Glam it up Beauty,” another fan shared. The comment section has also celebrated Parton for her beauty with comments including, “You are just a country girls glam, Dolly! You are just a beautiful human, inside and out!”
Parton expresses herself through her clothing, and when it comes to her outfits, she seldom sticks to the age-old fashion adage that less is more. Nope, for Dolly, it’s all about being over the top, but for some reason, this works for her! Fans have been fascinated by her looks for decades, so it was a brilliant move to release the book Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones (with 450 pages dedicated to some of her most memorable looks). But does the star think of herself as an icon? “I always laugh when I get called a fashion icon,” she told Vogue in an interview in 2023. “I’m more of an eyesore! Only because I overdo it.”
In the same interview, she admitted that even before she had the star status and the wealth she has now, she was “always a little bit flamboyant.” She continued, “When I got to where I could actually pick and choose [what I wore], I was drawn to color and tight clothes — anything just a little bit different than everybody else. I always [toed] the line, and sometimes I was willing to cross it in order to look like I wanted to look.”
Not everyone gets Parton’s style and some people would never be caught dead wearing her looks, but you can’t deny that what she wears has been clever throughout her career: she highlights all the best parts of her figure, and she doesn’t listen to what others have to say.
“I never cared what other people did, and I never cared what other people said about what I wore. It was more important that I be comfortable in my own clothes and in my own self,” she told Vogue. “I couldn’t afford to be fashionable, and I wasn’t smart enough to follow those trends — nor did I have the time to do it. I was more interested in my music and in my work.” Staying true to herself has worked!