Dolly Parton: Queen of Everything

 

Behind the Seams: My life in rhinestones by Dolly Parton

published 2023

This fabulous book was a birthday present from someone who had just visited Dollywood (Dolly Parton’s own personal theme park). How perfect is that?

It’s a massive picture book (how did my friend carry it back from US??) with jaw-dropping pictures of Dolly Parton’s stage outfits, beautifully reproduced and well-laid-out, along with commentary from Dolly, and interviews with her stylists, designers and hair and make-up artists.

An enormous amount of attention and love and care has gone into it – it is most impressive.

Dolly Parton is a phenomenon, a great singer and songwriter, with a decades-long career, with her own individual style, her distinctive appearance and personality, and a star who seems to have a very happy life, continued success, - and who is a kind, generous delightful person. She only hints in the book at her very extensive philanthropic activities, including the Imagination Library which gets free books out to children.

Her own background was by most standards deprived – one of 12 children in a family of dirt-poor farmers in Tennessee. She moved on and out to become a country singer, a film actress, and a star in many different genres of music. It’s an astonishing story.

This coffee-table-style book is by no means an autobiography, though it is most definitely a clothes memoir (a genre that I, obviously, particularly enjoy). But it has great autobiographical details and much of interest. I am a connoisseur of showbiz biographies, particularly the memoir ones – I will read the story of a singer or actress I have no knowledge or particular yen for, just for the fascination, and for the picture of American life. Books by Mariah Carey, Naomi Judd & Shirley Temple are particular favourites, but the most mesmerising of them all is Tammy Wynette – I have read many books by and about her, though it’s a biography that I particularly like: Tragic Country Queen by Jimmy McDonagh.

The two women, Tammy and Dolly, were roughly the same age (Tammy b 1942, Dolly b 1946) and came up the same way via Nashville. The big difference between them is this: Tammy W led a soap opera life, husbands, bad marriages, dramas, ill-health, violence – the life of characters in her songs. She became addicted to painkillers, and her end – she died in 1998 - was most unhappy. Dolly P got married young, has stayed married to the same man ever since, and appears to have no scandals at all in her life. (There are rumours about her marriage, but no-one has every produced any evidence). She is still happy, productive, and relaxed well into her late 70s.

She has a great personality, and a most appealing balance between knowing exactly how talented a star she is, no false modesty, and making self-deprecating knowing jokes about her persona.

The book is very much about her stage outfits and public appearances: these are not dresses for wearing to a family party or a restaurant. They are works of art, and a huge amount of effort (and money) goes into them. Rhinestones, beading and embroidery are the most frequent features, along with fringing. She is fascinating on the subject of how to design an elaborate, super-glamorous costume that also works on stage where she moves around and plays instruments.

A startling revelation is that one of her designers first worked with Prince: Dolly could see that someone who made great costumes for him could be good for her. There’s a moment of thinking ‘What?’ and then you start to see. ‘We’re both small’ she says, which requires certain proportions in costumes, and not all designers see that. And both Prince and Parton liked some bling…

There is a general perception that her ‘look’ could be described as trashy – an idea that she definitely plays up and encourages in a jokey way: ‘it costs a lot of money to look this cheap’ is one of her reported sayings. But one of the things I found most interesting in the huge array of pictures is how very far from the truth that is. She has a distinctive style: it’s not a style most people could get away with, and is very much a costume, designed for performance. But it is not trashy, skimpy or indeed revealing. Her preferred outfit – it becomes obvious – is a jumpsuit, covering her up completely, although very much showing her hourglass shape. The clothes are tight, but not lowcut – there is only a handful that shows much cleavage. She does like to show a leg in a skirt with a slit, but only in a tasteful way. She tends to stick to the old rule that you can have a low-cut top, or a short skirt, but not both, if you want to look good.

And of course she does look good, in fact splendid.  Long may she continue. She, and this book, are both treasures.

Jumping Dolly from Wikimedia Commons. Other pictures from the book.