Dolly Parton is Going “Behind the Seams” of Her Iconic Style in a New Book

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Country music legend Dolly Parton is just as famous for her style as she is her myriad hits like “Jolene” and “9 to 5.” That aspect of Parton’s enduring career is the focus of the 77-year-old’s next book.

Parton announced Wednesday she is releasing Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones on October 17. The book will offer fans an inside look at Parton’s private costume archive and document the evolution of her style since her first album release in 1967.

“It is my hope that you will enjoy a look at my life in costume and hair and get to know some of the great people who have helped shape my life and my look,” Parton said in a statement. Parton is a co-writer with journalist Holly George-Warren, who also penned the 2019 Janis Joplin biography Janis: Her Life and Music.

In Behind the Seams, Parton will discuss several of her most famous outfits, including the bunny suit she wore on the October 1978 cover of Playboy and costumes from her acting roles. Parton is known for her parts in the 1980 workplace comedy 9 to 5, which took Parton’s theme song of the same name to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as films like 1989’s Steel Magnolias and the 1982 musical comedy The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

In addition to her rhinestone and sequin-covered attire, the Tennessee native is famous for her wigs and towering heels. But the book starts with her childhood outfits that her mother sewed out of feed sacks. One of these, Parton’s “coat of many colors,” inspired a 1971 song and a 2015 made-for-TV movie.

In addition to her music, film, and entrepreneurial ventures, Parton is building up quite a writing portfolio. Behind the Seams is the second of a book trilogy for Parton and follows 2020’s Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, which focused on the stories that helped inspire 175 of her songs. She co-authored the 2022 novel Run, Rose, Run with James Patterson and has also published a 2012 advice book Dream More: Celebrate the Dreamer in You and a 2006 cookbook Dolly’s Dixie Fixin’s: Love, Laughter, and Lots of Good Food. On April 25, Parton is releasing a fictional children’s picture book about her god-dog Billy the Kid.

The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles previously held a 2019 exhibit featuring Parton’s most notable costumes from album covers, music videos, and live performances.