As a rising star, Dolly Parton was reluctant to let anybody tell her what she could and couldn’t do – including what clothing was appropriate for her to wear.
In a new interview, Parton shares that both her father and grandfather detested her fashion choices. Parton admits that her grandfather, who was a preacher, even physically disciplined her based on the clothing she would wear.
“I was willing to pay for it,” Parton, 77, told The Guardian.
Dolly Parton reveals that she sacrificed her physical safety to wear what she wanted. (Ron Davis/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
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“I’m very sensitive,” she continued. “I didn’t like being disciplined – it hurt my feelings so bad to be scolded or whipped or whatever. But sometimes there’s just that part of you that’s willing, if you want something bad enough, to go for it.”
Parton has always been vocal about her signature style – colorful makeup, plunging tops and big hair – inspired by the local “town tramp.”
“She was flamboyant. She had bright red lipstick, long red fingernails. She had high-heeled shoes, little floating plastic goldfish in the heels of them, short skirts, low-cut tops, and I just thought she was beautiful. 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.’”
Over the years, Dolly Parton has not strayed away from her signature style, pictured here in 1981, left, and 1987, middle and right. (Images Press | ABC Photo Archives | Getty Images)
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Her family weren’t the only ones giving Parton pushback on her clothing choices. The “9 to 5” singer battled record label executives as well.
“I’ve always been true to myself,” she shared with The Guardian. “That was what my mama always used to say: to thine own self be true. I put a lot of stock in that. Everything I do, whether it’s my personality, how I conduct myself and business, or whatever, if I do it my way, according to what I understand and believe, there’s a strength in that. You can think, ‘I can stand by this, I can live by this.’”
Parton says people’s opinions of her did matter, but she “never cared so much” to let it keep her from being her authentic self. (Harry Langdon/Getty Images)
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With all that input, Parton says people’s opinions of her did matter, but she “never cared so much” to let it keep her from being her authentic self.
Representatives for Parton did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
