08/26/2026
Growing up in a small town in the pre-Instagram era meant limited exposure to the fashion and creativity that I so craved. I remember seeing photos of Dolly Parton and her sparkly getups and admiring how confident she was in being so outrageous 💃🏼
I started hunting in the local thrift store for oddities from other eras that no one else wanted - huge shoulder pads, loud prints, suede dresses, and pairing them with stilettos and over the knee boots and gold eyeshadow and a matching gold backpack ⭐️
The dress code enforcers at my high school were perplexed. Some people laughed, but I didn’t care. I wanted to have fun getting dressed every morning, and Dolly taught me that shocking people could be part of the amusement, not an embarrassment ✔️
While years have passed and I wardrobe includes admittedly less sequins and lamé, having all that time to experiment creatively made me into a much better designer 🐎 It helped me realize that fashion is about joy, not rules.
Thank you Dolly, and rest in peace 💛
