‘It costs a lot of money to look this cheap’: Remembering Dolly Parton’s inimitable style

She was synonymous with all things bold and bedazzled, but Dolly Parton wanted to be buried on “a beautiful bed of plush cotton”.

Confirming the news of the country music legend’s death, nephew Brian Seaver revealed Parton had called him to impart her final wish: “[She said] after a life of wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable.”

The Jolene singer etched her name into showbiz history with her distinctive voice and incredible songwriting, but there’s no denying her aesthetic was equally iconic.

There’s an entire dictionary worth of words that could be used to describe Parton’s signature look. Bright, certainly. Glittering. Maximalist. Flamboyant. Unsubtle. Impossible to ignore. The antithesis of prim and proper.

But the task is perhaps best left to the late musician, who wrote in her 2012 book, “I describe my look as a blend of Mother Goose, Cinderella and the local hooker.”

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Parton had no interest in blending in. Both on and off-stage, she teamed her bright, often rhinestone-spotted outfits – jumpsuits, gowns and everything in between – with towering blonde wigs and heavy makeup.

She often spoke of her style in interviews and her books, resulting in some of her most famous quotes.

From, “I would never stoop so low as to be fashionable”, to, “I like to buy clothes that are two sizes too small and then take them in a little” and, “It costs a lot of money to look this cheap,” Parton was unapologetic about being OTT.

The singer developed her fashion taste at a young age, saying she modelled her look on the local “town tramp” she observed while growing up Tennessee.

“She was flamboyant. She had bright red lipstick, long red fingernails,” she told The Guardian in 2023.

“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.’”

Three years ago, Parton released a book focused entirely on her fashion, titled Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones.

While she’s always been wholeheartedly committed to her aesthetic, she admitted she, too, has looked back on past outfits with some regret.

“I’ve worn some of the most bizarre things – my hairdos have always been so out there,” she told The Guardian.

“At the time you think you look good, then you look back on it, like, what was I thinking?”

As millions of fans and admirers mourn Parton’s death, one thing is clear: the world just got a little less sparkly.

In honour of a true original, here’s a collection of some of her most iconic looks.