When the news came in this morning about the death of the legend and diva Dolly Parton, I was saddened, not because I’m a big country music fan (sorry to those who are; it’s just not my genre), but because I am a big fan of Dolly. She had so many wonderful traits. As someone who likes to get lost in a good book every night before I go to sleep, her donation of kids’ books to underprivileged children via her Imagination Library has gifted over 332 million books to over 3 million children around the world. Growing up without a TV meant I spent a lot of time reading as a kid, and fostering that in kids is close to my heart.
She really valued education and in 1990 started donating money to keep kids in school in her home county. In February 2022, the Dollywood Company launched a programme called GROW U, giving all 11,000 employees across its parks, including seasonal and part-time workers, full tuition, fees and books covered for over 100 diploma, degree and certificate programmes, plus partial funding for another 150. It was framed as a “no loans” education benefit available from day one of employment, not something you had to earn over years on the job. She put her fortune to good use.
Dolly was a philanthropist in many spheres, from health and medical research to disaster relief. “I’m just so proud to have been a part of anything that’s good, and that’s making life a little better for people.”
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What’s this got to do with a blog dedicated to style? Well, Dolly also had a signature style, one that she honed her entire life and one that matched her personality, as she said, “I wasn’t a natural beauty. So I just like to look the way I look. I’m so outgoing inside in my personality that I need the way I look to match all of that.”
That’s a call to true authentic style. In fact, she also said, “I would never stoop so low as to be fashionable.”
She didn’t follow fashion; she dressed to the beat of her own authentic style drum (and guitar riff).
What she showed through her actions and words,
You don’t have to follow fashion to be stylish (in your own way). Here are my 5 lessons that Dolly Parton Taught Me About Style:
1. Know Your Intention Before You Decide on Your Outfit
Dolly always said her look should match her personality, not fashion trends. Dress the inside, express who you are, and who you want to be. She had decided from a young age that she would be successful and she went after what she wanted. At her high school graduation (the first person in her family to graduate – her father was illiterate), she told her class, “I’m going to Nashville, and I’m going to be famous.”
“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”
This is where your personal style comes in. Be you, on purpose. Stop looking at others and their style, ignore the Instagram influencers; instead, hone in on what you love, what floats your aesthetic boat, what makes your heart flutter and sing. These are the key ingredients to your own signature style; you just have to figure out what they are and then start wearing them, on purpose.
“I feel glamorous on the inside, so I want to look it on the outside”
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2. Your Style Can Be an Act of Loyalty, Not Vanity
Her whole aesthetic was modelled on the women in her Tennessee small-town hometown who were written off as trash. “Everybody said, ‘She’s trash.’ And in my little girl mind, I thought, ‘Well, that’s what I’m going to be when I grow up.‘” She wasn’t copying a magazine; she was standing with people. Real style often says something about who you belong to, not just who you want to impress. Dolly had the courage to go out and try, to do the things she wanted to do, to become the musician she dreamed of being as a young child. She was loyal to her dreams and to her own sense of style.
3. Own the Joke Before Anyone Else Can Make It
“It costs a lot of money to look this cheap” is one line, but it’s a masterclass in confidence. She named the criticism, then made it hers. Nobody can needle you about a choice you’ve already laughed about first. “I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb, and I’m not blonde either.”
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4. Fashion is Optional, Style is Not
She knew that trends come and go, and she let them; she never chased them, as she’d developed her own signature style that was her personal brand. You could easily identify her in a crowd, and she showed up daily in that signature style. That’s the big difference between personal style and fashion, and Dolly was the walking epitome of personal style. “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”
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5. Consistency is What Makes a Look Iconic
The wigs, the waist, the rhinestones, the nails. These didn’t change much over the 60 years of her career. Instead, they became iconic. She understood that consistency is key to a great personal brand (and even a business brand, in in the end, Dolly was and will remain a big business). “I look at myself like a show dog that I have to keep clipped and trimmed and in good shape.”
To finish up, here are some final wise words of the incredible Dolly Parton that are words to live by:
“You’ll never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try.”
So many women tell me that they’re scared of being judged. That they can’t wear something that they love the look of, because someone might laugh at them (or judge them for it). Instead, let’s be like Dolly and wear the clothes and accessories that make you happy, that you love, that make you smile. When you do this, you’ll inspire others to do the same, as your courage helps others to find their own.
