Dolly Parton just dropped a collaboration with Good American, and it’s as glam as you’d expect. Called “Dolly’s Joleans,” the limited-edition collection, available April 3 at Good American and Nordstrom, is packed with rhinestones and country-inspired details that have become synonymous with the country legend whose always been an outspoken advocate of staying true to yourself.
“We wanted to kind of get into my closet and pull out things that I’ve worn through the years in magazines and on shows,” Parton tells PAPER. “I know if I feel good in my clothes according to my personality and my rules, then I can radiate more love and more light and more personality to where I can make people happier in my atmosphere and in my little field of energies. People should apply that with their clothes to wear — what you think makes you look your best, that makes you feel your best and makes you do your best. You’re going to shine and you’re going to be your best self. Just go with it. Be you.”
Below, Dolly Parton chatted with PAPER all about making a collection with Good American, staying true to yourself, living a life of love and the importance of being a good person.
Hi Dolly! How are you doing? You look amazing.
Thanks! I look country and good American girl-looking with my gingham and my hair bow. We’re promoting our Jolene Jeans Collection.
Let’s get right into it! How did this collaboration come about?
Khloé Kardashian and Emma [Grede] from Good American came to me and said, “Why don’t we go in business together?” I said, “Well, why don’t we?” They wanted to play off of some of the things from my own closet and play off of that country theme that has been such a big thing for the last few years, because of country music being so great and so many people dressing in that way.
What can we expect the collection to look and feel like?
We just wanted to have some good pieces, some good jeans, which we had to name “Jolene” because of my song: the Jolene jeans. One of the things I love about them is that they really do fit good and make your butt look good, even if you don’t have a good butt. And if you have a good butt, they make ‘em look really good. Then we have all these other beautiful pieces — blouses like this [gingham] one, and some we have with stones and all. We wanted to kind of get into my closet and pull out things that I’ve worn through the years in magazines and on shows. It seemed like a perfect fit. It looks like everybody’s getting excited about it. I’m really excited to see what it does.
You’ve always had such a good sense of style and authenticity. How do you share that with other people in something like this?
Everybody that knows me (and everybody does, seems like these days, especially anybody that’s going to be wanting to buy these things), they know that I’m an individual. Everybody should be true to themselves, and I agree with that about everything: You should be the way you are. Whatever that is, you should be allowed to be you. Whatever you are, be that. Whatever you do, do that. Anything else is just an act.
That really applies to the clothes you wear because what you wear reflects so much about how you’re going to function that particular day. I know if I feel good in my clothes according to my personality and my rules, then I can radiate more love and more light and more personality to where I can make people happier in my atmosphere and in my little field of energies. People should apply that with their clothes to wear — what you think makes you look your best, that makes you feel your best and makes you do your best. You’re going to shine and you’re going to be your best self. Just go with it. Be you.
What’s the secret to really honoring yourself when there can be a lot of external forces, especially these days on social media, that may influence you?
First of all, if I can’t be me, who would I be? I wouldn’t know who else to be. You can’t imitate somebody else. That’s just a false thought altogether. I mean, you might like certain elements about people. You might even steal certain things from them. But if you’re not authentically yourself, you’re not going to be a real person. You’re going to seem like a phony, because people are going to pick up on certain things that they know are not real. You’d be better off to just stay yourself. I am myself, and that’s easy to be, because I don’t want to be anybody else. I like me. I like who I am. Everybody should learn to love themselves. If you don’t love yourself, it’s not likely that somebody else will.
There’s certain things I wish I was: taller, more beautiful. There’s a lot of stuff like that, but that’s not the stuff that counts. Those are just fleeting things. Really deep down inside where it counts, you gotta just be glad that you are who you are. Thank God for making you the way you are. He did it for a reason. I’ve always been anchored in my spiritual self more than anything. I mean, I’m not preaching to anybody else. It works for me. I’m very grounded in my faith and in my spiritual self, and that keeps me from wandering too far, because I have someone to give it back to. I don’t claim anything for myself. It’s just all on loan to me. And so I just think, I’m going to make the most of everything that I’ve got and try to make people as happy as I can and throw as much light out there as I can. And if I’m wearing rhinestones or plain clothes, I still want to shine and radiate.
I just want to say thank you for being you and for your music. I’ve always turned to it in moments that I need grounding and healing. Throughout your life, are there any people that have inspired you creatively and also just as a person?
I’m inspired by anyone that’s got love, that really cares, because there’s a certain light about them. And you’re drawn to light. If you’re a good person, you think about other people. We’re just all pieces of each other. We’re all the same. We all feel the same things: We all laugh, we all cry, we all bleed, we all suffer, we all have heartaches. Just feel for people. That comes from a loving heart. God is love. And that’s really the only definition that we have. Love can work miracles if people allow it. It’s about just caring enough to love somebody, to lift somebody up. People should do more of that. It’s not so hard to be good.
Your music often talks about love and loss and resilience. Right now, individually and collectively, there’s a lot of heaviness on all of us. What do you think the deeper purpose of pain and struggle is, and how do you transform it into something beautiful?
That’s up to the individual. In my faith, God gave us free will. He gave us everything. We have access to every bit of that. Maybe you can’t save the world, but you can just do the best you can. That’s all we can ever do. Ask for help. Ask for understanding and strength and love. When things are bad, pray. When things get worse, pray harder. Love one another.
Photography: Inez and Vinoodh