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Reason Dolly Parton always wore long sleeves
After it was announced that the beloved country music icon, Dolly Parton, had died aged 80 on Tuesday, tributes have poured in, as many reflect on her astonishing career and on her individualistic traits.
The late singer’s nephew, Brian Seaver, officially confirmed that his aunt had passed away in a statement which read: “I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven't truly felt it until now. It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness.”
Why Parton always wore long sleeves
Her music, signature blonde hair, and glamorous exterior were all traits associated with Parton, but the one ever-constant characteristic that completed her look was her preference for wearing long sleeves, with many fans regularly left questioning why she rarely revealed her arms.
While Parton never publicly acknowledged that she wore long sleeves for any particular reason, it was believed that it was to hide her tattoos.
The ‘Jolene’ singer admitted that she had decided to get tattoos to cover or disguise scars, with Parton revealing she was predisposed to developing keloid scar tissue, which would often leave a purple tinge.
“Most of the tattoos, when I first started, I was covering up some scars that I had,” Parton revealed to Vanity Fair.
While some reports suggested that she was covered in tattoos, Parton played down those rumors, saying she had begun adding “little pastel” tattoos to detract from the scarring.
The adored singer had numerous designs, including butterflies, flowers, and an angel, with the butterfly being of considerable significance, with the symbol regularly featuring throughout her work, both in music and in her Dollywood Foundation.
The late singer's legacy
Yet, it wasn’t her choice of clothing or what was underneath that defined her, but rather her vast discography, which consisted of several No. 1 singles, from ‘Jolene’ and ‘9 to 5’, to ‘I Will Always Love You’.
The singer-turned-actress has left an undying legacy that stretches beyond music and popular culture and into philanthropy, setting up the Dollywood Foundation and the Imagination Library—an initiative that has distributed millions of books to children across the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, Ireland, and elsewhere.
Despite valuing her privacy away from the public eye, Parton’s life’s work has reached billions of ears over several decades, with the much-loved singer leaving quite the legacy behind her.