Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones

by Dolly Parton, Holly George-Warren, Rebecca Seaver Narrated by Dolly Parton, Holly George-Warren, Rebecca Seaver

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Dolly Parton is a whole vibe, and this book is like a walkthrough of that vibe. Full of photographs of her and her bedazzling costumes, Parton tells the story behind her fashion, and it’s everything you’d expect it to be and then some.

A beautiful celebration of Dolly Parton's iconic sense of style through entertaining personal stories, interviews with friends and family, music, and archival interview and performance clips.

In Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, global superstar Dolly Parton shares, for the first time, the full story behind her lifelong passion for fashion, including how she developed her own, distinctly Dolly style, which has defied convention and endeared her to fans around the world.
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Featuring behind-the-scenes stories from Dolly Parton's life and career, this audiobook*spotlights her most unforgettable looks from the 1960s to now. The*sky-high heels, famous wigs, bold makeup, eye-catching stage clothes-she shares them all. Along the way, Parton discusses memorable outfits from her past and the daring styles that continue to entertain and inspire today.*
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Filled with candor, humor, and lots and lots of rhinestones, Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones is a shining tribute to one of the most beloved musicians in history, a treasured keepsake for anyone who loves Dolly Parton, and an indispensable guide to forging your own path to beauty and confidence.
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Includes a Bonus PDF with exclusive images from Dolly's private costume archive
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This audio is narrated by the authors with contributions from many of Dolly's lifelong fashion collaborators:
Dolly Parton, Holly George-Warren, Rebecca Seaver, Allister Ann, Ann Roth, Art Streiber, Aurelia, Bobbe Joy, Cheryl Riddle, Debra McGuire, Fran Strine, Iisha Lemming, Jason Pirro, Jim Herrington, Randee St Nicholas, Riley Hanratty, Robert Behar, Stacia Lang, Stacie Huckeba, Steve Summers, Timothy White, and Vance Nichols

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

08/07/2023

Country music star Parton (Dolly Parton, Songteller) throws open her closet doors to reveal the show-stopping outfits that have defined her five-plus decades in the limelight. Starting in childhood, Parton used style to “reflect my innermost self” and build confidence—“I can’t do what I’m supposed to do as a performer if I don’t feel comfortable in my own skin,” she informed music industry executives who tried to streamline her larger-than-life fashion into a sleek “1960s pop look.” She always favored big hair, tight and low-cut clothes, and rhinestones (“once I could afford them”), even when they went against the day’s trends. Featured here are several of Parton’s scrap-made “coats of many colors” inspired by her 1971 single of the same name, a short off-the-rack wedding dress from her 1966 wedding to Carl Dean, and an exquisite white beaded gown worn to the 2006 Kennedy Center Honors. Enriched with insights from the star’s designers, hairdressers, and makeup artists (as well her niece, Rebecca Seaver, who curated the collection), this is both a lush visual feast and a testament to the originality and self-possession that made Parton a force to be reckoned with: an entertainer who refused to accede to trends, was firmly in control of her own sexuality, and expanded the stylistic possibilities available to female performers. Fashion lovers and country fans alike will be enchanted. Photos. (Oct.)

From the Publisher

[A] lavish, coffee-table winner.”—Parade

“The book is an encyclopedia of iconic pop-culture moments; it’s a visual feast for fashion enthusiasts and a treasured keepsake for Parton’s loyal fans. But even more so than that, it serves as a reminder that Parton’s superpower—and perhaps even the reason for her record-breaking longevity in Hollywood—is her authenticity.”—The Cut

“Dolly Parton charts her formidable career through the prism of her unique wardrobe with full-colour photos and laugh-out-loud anecdotes. Camp and colourful but no less inspiring, this book is for fans old and young alike.”—The Standard

“In this effervescent full-color volume, Parton recounts the vivid tales behind the clothes. . . . Throughout this graciously and generously illuminated book . . . [her] personal style shines brightly. . . . An unforgettable personal and professional history of a beloved country music performer . . . [and] a must-have treasury for diehard Dolly fans and armchair fashionistas.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Enriched with insights . . . , this is both a lush visual feast and a testament to the originality and self-possession that made Parton a force to be reckoned with: an entertainer who refused to accede to trends, was firmly in control of her own sexuality, and expanded the stylistic possibilities available to female performers. Fashion lovers and country fans alike will be enchanted.”—Publishers Weekly

JANUARY 2024 - AudioFile

Renowned singer Dolly Parton is center stage as she describes how her clothing choices over the years represent who she is. The production takes a Q&A format: Dolly's niece, Rebecca Seaver, also the director of Dolly's archived clothing collection, poses the questions. Seaver's engaging manner leads to Dolly's spontaneous clothing-related reflections during different periods of her life. Holly George Warren introduces chapters and other contributors. Dolly's commentary is characterized by her rich, lilting vernacular; her candidness; and her storytelling gift. Stories are punctuated with laughter, song excerpts related to the narrative, and a dynamism that is pure Dolly. Interviews with colleagues illustrate the joy of her collaborations. She brings alive the glitter of rhinestones and the vitality of those she's known in a magical combination of humor and humanity. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2023-07-18
The sparkly story of country music’s most recognizable woman told through an archive of outfits.

Featuring fringe, vibrant color, and rhinestones, Parton’s fashion sense has always contributed to her immense popularity. In this effervescent, full-color volume, Parton, along with veteran music and pop-culture writer George-Warren and Seaver, the director of archive services for the author, recounts the vivid tales behind the clothes. Blocks of text run alongside photographs as Parton looks back on her poor childhood, when she was fascinated with clothing and creating makeup from foraged household items. Inspired by Mae West, she writes about many of her pivotal career moments, including her move to Nashville in 1964 to become a country musician, despite warnings to tone down her image. “From early on, I loved the big hair and makeup,” she writes, “the long nails, the high heels, the flashy clothes, and—as soon as I could afford them—the rhinestones!” Passion is the common element throughout this graciously and generously illuminated book, commemorating her celebrity, zest for sparkling fashion, and identity as a funny, outspoken, effortlessly charming personality. A woman who wins over audiences with bubbly giggles, candid opinions, and a bedazzled, often risk-taking wardrobe, Parton moves with ease through the design innovations that have marked her decadeslong career as a music and fashion trailblazer. From album cover shots to photos from TV and movie appearances and award ceremonies, Parton’s personal style shines brightly as she shares the intricate details behind the glittered fringe, coiffured wigs, rhinestone stilettos, and glamorous designer collaborations that have made her wardrobe unique. She also writes frankly about how the weight of those outfits could be overwhelming, often making it a challenge to perform on stage. From beneath its splashy hot-pink cover emerges an unforgettable personal and professional history of a beloved country music performer whose outfits “reflect my innermost self, my own personal truth.”

A must-have treasury for diehard Dolly fans and armchair fashionistas.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940178049464
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	10/17/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	373,510

Read an Excerpt

Introduction


Clothes are like songs. Just as hearing certain music brings back particular memories, so it is with certain outfits. I’m so fortunate that, from the beginning of my career, I’ve had close friends and relatives who have taken good care of the clothing that is important to me. From personal items like the little bolero vest I wore while performing as a child and my simple wedding dress to such gorgeous costumes as the red dress that turned me into Miss Mona in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas to everything I’ve ever worn onstage, each of these garments signifies something important—a place in my life, a moment in my career, a time when I felt like me. I treasure them all.

Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones tells the stories behind some of my favorite outfits, both on and off the stage. It also paints a picture of the evolution of my own personal style that I first developed growing up in the backwoods of East Tennessee. I always loved makeup. I wanted to be pretty. Back then, any woman who wore makeup in the mountains was considered trashy. But I didn’t care. When I started buying my own makeup, I also started dressing according to how I felt, which meant wearing tight, low-cut outfits that my mama made. I remember feeling powerful enough to go up against Daddy or Grandpa to say, “Now, that’s not that tight. It ain’t cut that low. It ain’t that much.” And they’d say, “Yes, it is!” But I’d be willing to get my ass whupped for it. I would sacrifice for how I wanted to look.

The same thing happened when I moved to Nashville in 1964 to become a country star. Just like I had to persist to get my songs heard and ignite my recording career, I had to resist a lot of “advice” telling me to tone down my look or choose a different type of wardrobe. In these pages, you’ll learn I never listened to any of that. From early on, I loved the big hair and makeup, the long nails, the high heels, the flashy clothes, and—as soon as I could afford them—the rhinestones! But believe it or not, I had to fight for that look!

In this book you’ll see how, as a young artist, my self-confidence was enhanced by developing my own Dolly style and then sticking to it. I didn’t care about trends. Instead, I worked hard to look the way I pictured myself. Although my style has evolved as the years have gone by, I’ve stuck to the motto “To thine own self be true” over the past six decades—and still do. Much as the fictional characters that populate my songs uncover essential truths about me and the people I’ve known, my clothes and makeup also reveal the real me. Maybe they’re both “made up,” but they reflect my innermost self, my own personal truth.

I’ve had lots of help telling the story you’re about to read. You’ll hear from some of my designers, tailors, hairdressers, makeup artists, and photographers, and from my longtime creative director, Steve Summers, and his team, all of whom have been essential in transforming my ideas into reality. Early on, my personal assistant and friend, Judy Ogle, began assembling my clothing archive. She did a great job of saving and looking after all my things. Without her, so many of the pictures, so many of the clothes wouldn’t be here. Before she retired, she archived everything she could—that was her mission and her calling. My niece Rebecca Seaver, who learned from Judy, has been an integral part of my career for years and has curated the special collection you’re about to see, selecting these pieces from among thousands of garments that she and her crew care for. Nobody in this world is better suited to working in my archive. She is perfect because she has been there from the very, very beginning, and she also loves clothes. She grew up with me. Everything I did she was part of, and she knows every dress I ever wore— how it looked, how it felt, how it smelled. No one else could have put together the ideas for this book better than Rebecca. She has selected items spanning six-plus decades—from complete outfits to accessories, shoes, and wigs—to fill these pages.

I hope that as you gaze upon my life in clothing, it will inspire you to develop, and celebrate, your own sense of style. I value my freedom to look like and be my own true self more than anything else, and I hope this book will also give you the confidence to look like and be the person you want to be. Whoever you are, be that! And enjoy your journey behind the seams.

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