You recognized her silhouette first: the voluminous blonde coiffure, the sharp acrylic talons, the perfectly lined coral lips. The legend that was Dolly Parton had a look that she’d maintained since her early days on cable television in the 1960s.
Parton—who has died at 80 years old, according to a statement released by her family—made her name on the country circuit as a kid, performing on local Tennessee radio and television stations. When she was 12 she met Johnny Cash at the Grande Ole Opry, and he convinced her to pursue her dreams.
Parton was, without question, an iconic recording artist, songwriter, philantrophist, raconteur. But one thing she long rejected was her status as a fashion icon. “I always laugh when I get called a fashion icon,” she told Vogue. “I’m more of an eyesore! Only because I overdo it.”
Nevertheless, her outfit archive was undeniably the stuff of country-glam legend. And, in a cultural landscape now littered with artists attempting to package their careers into neatly defined “eras,” there was something especially pleasing about her consistency.
In honor of the performer’s legendary life—and unmistakable style—revisit some pivotal moments in her early career.
