The Tamesis
The first thing you’ll recognize is her silhouette: thick blonde hair, sharp acrylic claws, perfectly defined coral lips. Dolly Parton is a legend and has been rocking this look since her debut on cable TV in the early 1960s.
Parton, who turns 80 today, rose to fame on the country circuit as a child performing on local radio and television stations in Tennessee. At age 12, she met Johnny Cash at the Grand Ole Opry and he convinced her to pursue her dream.
There is no doubt that Parton is an iconic recording artist, songwriter, philanthropist and conversationalist. But one thing she rejects is her status as a fashion icon. “I always laugh when I’m called a fashion icon,” she previously said Fashion. “I’m more of an eyesore! Just because I go too far.”
Still, her sartorial archives are certainly the stuff of country glamor legend. And, in a cultural landscape now filled with artists trying to fit their careers into clearly defined “eras,” her consistency is particularly pleasing.
As the country music legend turns 80, take a look back at some of the key moments in her early career.
