The Dazzling Outfits Behind Dolly Parton’s Enduring Legacy

While Dolly Parton’s chart-topping songs and philanthropy will endure, she’ll also be remembered and treasured for outfits that became her signature. Parton died on August 25, 2026 at age 80 following a brief bout with cancer.

Dolly Parton Left Behind A Distinct Visual Legacy

Parton understood the power of creating a distinct image as a business strategy, which was integral to songs such as “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” and “I Will Always Love You.” It endeared her to millions. As a New York Times 2019 headline noted: “Is There Anything We Can All Agree On? Yes: Dolly Parton.”

“Dolly leaned into maximalism as a form of self-expression and, honestly, as a form of resistance,” said Michele Y. Smith, chief executive officer of Seattle-based Museum of Pop Culture. “The rhinestones, the big hair, the theatrical silhouettes were just Dolly being exactly herself, loudly and without apology.”

Growing up in rural poverty in Sevierville, Tennessee, Parton would see a local woman dressed in high heels, revealing skirts and tops, and bold makeup—what other locals called “trash” and the “town tramp.” Parton relays the anecdote in her 2023 style memoir, Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones. Parton appreciated the look, telling the Guardian in October 2023, “When people would say, ‘She ain’t nothing but trash,’ I would always say, ‘Well, that’s what I’m gonna be when I grow up.’”

Parton was taken with country performers’ big hair and their showy costumes when she arrived in Nashville in 1964. But the burgeoning star wanted to amp the look with brighter colors, even bigger hair, hundreds of rhinestones and a dash of sass.

What Dolly Parton Knew In Spades: Style Is A Language

While some critics dissed Parton’s look as cheap, gaudy, or just over-the-top, Parton played along with self-deprecating humor, which only endeared her to fans more. Among her more famous lines: “It costs a lot of money to look this cheap.”

“What Dolly figured out before almost anyone else in her industry is that style is a language,” said Smith. “She used it to say the same thing every single time she walked on a stage. I am here, I am proud of who I am, and I am not shrinking for anyone.”

She famously appeared on the October 1978 cover of Playboy magazine at 32 years old —the first country music artist to do so. She wore a version of the classic black Playboy bunny bodysuit complete with pink heels, a white bowtie studded with rhinestones and bunny ears.

The Playboy cover was “one of the most joyful and confident fashion moments I can think of in American culture,” Smith said. “She was just having fun on her own terms.”

Dolly Parton’s Wardrobe Designers

Fellow Tennessean Steve Summers, who performed at Dollywood, designed wardrobe ensembles for Parton in his role as her creative director. In terms of Parton’s look, “everything matters,” he told People magazine in 2022. That included which colors she needed to avoid, how long it would take to get dressed, and whether the fabric would wrinkle too easily.

Legendary costume designer Bob Mackie designed a standout creation for Parton: the butterfly gown, donned during her 1979 TV special, Dolly & Carol in Nashville, co-starring comedian Carol Burnett. The gown was modeled after Parton’s favorite image, the butterfly. The black creation, accented in silver and gold, was covered in hand-stitched beadwork, rhinestones and sequins. The translucent long sleeves spread dramatically wide when she raised her arms, resembling butterfly wings. Parton, enamored with the look, wore it for concerts years afterward.

In later years, Parton got funky with some outfits, notably for the 2023 press conference for her album, Rockstar. The then-77-year-old star wore knee-high stiletto silver boots and a pink-and-white skirt created from fringe.