‟FOR ME, WRITING SONGS IS LIKE MAKING
my own little movies with my guitar,”
Dolly Parton says in the introduction to
an episode of Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings
(out Nov. 22), a Netflix anthology
series based on that very idea. Each
installment was inspired by a different
track from Parton’s prodigious song-
book, from the heartbreak of a pregnant
teen in “Down From Dover” to the
desperation of a woman threatened by
that auburn-haired vixen “Jolene.”
In addition to having a role in “Jolene,”
Parton appears as herself at the top of
each episode to offer song writing
insight—and, of course, a whole lot of
sparkle. Designer Robért Behar dressed
the icon for her intros in a series of
showstopping looks. “The inspiration is
the song,” Behar says of the designs.
“It’s trying to put clothing on her words.”
His efforts resulted in a wardrobe as
varied as Parton’s long career, but all ful-
filling one crucial requirement: “As long
as it looks like Dolly!”
↓ In ‟These Old Bones,” a big-town lawyer (Ginnifer
Goodwin) returns home to Tennessee‟Sugar Hill”
For period-piece episodes,
Behar took inspiration from
the historical settings to
inform the design of Parton’s
modern look. To open ‟Sugar
Hill,” the singer is 19th-century
sweet in this beribboned,
puff-sleeved floral dress. “It
was sort of the Little House
on the Prairie kind of feel,” he
says. “It’s really country.”‟Two Doors Down”
‟It’s a very Dolly moment,”
Behar says of this shimmer-
ing brocade number with a
red beaded fringe, paired with
perfectly matched peep-toe
heels. ‟Any fashion direction
[you take], whatever the
dress is, it just needs to be
Dolly-ized.” And what does
that entail, in this case? ‟If the
shine is there, it is Dolly!”