In Praise of Loretta Lynn’s Gloriously Glitzy Signature Style
Country icon Loretta Lynn is 83 years old and still going strong, having released her 54th studio album, Full Circle, last week, as well as being the subject of a new PBS American Masters documentary “Loretta Lynn: Still a Mountain Girl.”
All spectacular accomplishments to be sure, but the great miss Lynn should also be commended for her unwavering commitment to her signature gowns—glitzy, glamorous, gloriously dated—that she’s been wearing for decades.
Last night, the country queen appeared on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live” in an aquamarine confection that was so spectacular, I couldn’t stop staring at it. The giant shoulders, beading, and frilly layers at first glance might seem like something you’d find lining the shelves of a backwoods Salvation Army, but they’re more a reflection of how women dressed during country music‘s glory days.
Turns out, that dress—and more of Lynn’s before it—were created with her longtime stylist and personal dressmaker Tim Cobb (who was dutifully behind the bar on WWHL).
Lynn was a somewhat controversial figure in the country-music world during the 1960s and ’70s thanks to the frankness of her lyrics and her willingness to broach subjects that were normally untouched by women, such as sex, adultery, and birth control; but she never wavered from performing in her signature gowns, making her—in my opinion—a trailblazing woman who managed to unapologetically succeed while embracing her femininity.
In honor of the country queen’s newest act, take a look at some of her most spectacular fashion moments.
