Dolly Parton is sharing the ‘magic behind the seams’ in an exhibit in Nashville featuring 25 of her favorite and most iconic looks from her long and storied career.
The exhibit is called Dolly Parton and the Makers: My Life in Rhinestones and it opens on October 31 at Nashville’s Lipscomb University and it comes on the heels of her defending her unique look.
The fashion exhibition is considered a companion to Dolly’s latest book Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, which was released on October 17.
The Jolene singer, 77, wore a black and silver dress that was perfect for the spooky season featuring small spikes, mesh accents that looked like webs and silver threading.
‘I’m amazed at how much I’ve done, I really am,’ Parton joked at the ribbon cutting, per WTVF.
‘Someone says how does it feel to see all that? I think, ‘Phew, that’s a lot of living.”
The exhibit runs through December 9 and also takes a look at the designers and stylists and their creative process.
The 9 to 5 singer said her favorite dress in the exhibition is the one she wore on the CMA awards in 1989 to sing He’s Alive.
‘I love that song. I remember that moment I sang that song. It meant so much to me,’ Parton said.
In addition Dolly’s sparkly gowns, the exhibit also features shoes and other accessories.
‘Tonight, we are honoring a person who may be the most beloved person in the entertainment industry,’ the President of Lipscomb University Candice McQueen said.
‘Her music has been the soundtrack of our lives, and her unique fashion sense has left an indelible mark on the world of style.’
‘We are thrilled to partner with Dolly Parton and those behind her iconic fashion to offer the community this exciting opportunity to have an up-close look at some of her favorite outfits and to learn more about these treasured looks,’ McQueen said in a press release on Parton’s website.
Earlier this week on her brand new podcast What Would Dolly Do, she talked about her often outlandish outfits, saying she was encouraged to tone things down.
‘I didn’t like wearing what somebody else would that’s supposed to have had good taste. But I had no taste,’ she said.
Dolly clarified: ‘Not in that respect. My taste was all about what I felt comfortable in, which I think is fashionable anyway. If you’re comfortable in your own skin, in what you’re wearing or in your own clothes, there’s a lot to be said about that.’
Her view is that ‘if you’re comfortable with yourself, then you can project a certain, you know, aura, a certain essence.’
