Dolly Parton shares expert response to critics who tell her to ‘tone down’ her look

‘Jolene’ singer reveals fellow country music star Chet Atkins once suggested she ‘tone down’ her signature appearance

Dolly Parton has revealed the perfect response she gave when people suggested she soften her appearance early on in her career.

The country music legend, 77, recently spoke about her unique style during the new four-part series, What Would Dolly Do? Radio, on Apple Music and Apple Podcasts. While chatting with co-host Kelleigh Bannen, the “Jolene” singer revealed that her “dear friend” and fellow musician Chet Atkins once suggested she “tone down” her now-iconic look.

“He said: ‘Dolly, I really don’t believe that people are going to take you serious as a singer and songwriter unless you tone down your look,’” Parton recalled. “I said: ‘Well, okay. I’ll take that to heart, Mr Atkins. Thank you for your advice.’ And of course, I just got worse with it.”

She continued: “Years later, after I became a star, he sidled up beside me and said: ‘Now ain’t you glad you listened to my good advice?’”

When asked by Bannen what she would tell someone today if they asked her to change her appearance, Parton fittingly replied: “I’d say: ‘Go to hell. I ain’t doing it.’”

The “9 to 5” singer went on to discuss her approach to fashion, noting that someone’s personal style should simply be whatever “makes you happy”.

“My true belief with most things, you’ve got to really find out who you are, what makes you happy, what you’re comfortable in, and if you feel like you look your best, according to your rules, then you are going to do your best,” Parton said. “I really believe that. And I think everybody has their own little things they love. To me, that is what fashion is.”

As for how she found the inspiration for her signature rhinestone jackets and big, blonde tresses, Parton explained that she actually modelled her look after a local woman in her town.

“She had her hair all piled up on her head, she wore bright red lipstick, she wore eye makeup and tight skirts, tight clothes,” the “I Will Always Love You” singer recalled. “In my mind, that planted that seed.”

Once she entered high school, Parton began to embrace her own style by teasing her hair and wearing “too much makeup”, which she admitted that some of her friends’ mothers didn’t appreciate.

“A lot of the mothers in school thought that I was a bad influence on some of their girls, thinking I was too cheap, a little too this, too that,” she told Bannen. “And their daughters were the ones that were making all the trouble, running with the boys and all that. I was actually pretty innocent in that respect.”

While some of the adults in her hometown of Tennessee weren’t fans of Parton’s fashion sense, the Grammy winner admitted that her own mother was very understanding of her then-controversial style. “She knew that I was a singer and I was creative and that I was different,” Parton added. “She tried to keep me in check as much as she could, but she did understand.”

These days, no one would dare to tell the legendary country singer what to wear or how to style her hair. However, Parton shared that her longtime husband, Carl Dean, still chimes in about her fashion from time to time. “I’m tiny. I’m only, like, five one,” she noted. “I remember Carl said one time, he says: ‘Sometimes I go out in the closet when you’re gone, and I think those look like doll clothes. They look like a little girl’s clothes.’ I said: ‘Well, they do ’til I get in them.’”

This isn’t the first time Parton has opened up about her signature, larger-than-life look. In her new book Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, which was released on 17 October, Parton revealed that she’s been sleeping in a full face of makeup every night since the 1980s in case of an emergency.

“When I arrived in LA in the 80s, I started sleeping with my makeup on, partly because of the earthquakes,” she wrote. “I thought: ‘I’m not heading out on the streets without makeup in case there are cameras out there! I’m going to be ready to go!’”

While Parton wears her makeup through the night, she explained that she makes sure to clean her face in the morning. However, once she’s done washing her face, she reapplies her makeup once again. “It doesn’t matter when you clean your face as long as you clean it once a day,” Parton wrote. "After I wake up, I do all the little rituals, and then I start over again and go out every day and look good all day long.”