Since 2010, Dolly Parton has been wearing fingerless gloves or long sleeves that cover the tops of her hands at almost every public appearance or photoshoot. At many industry events, she has worn flesh-colored gloves, and she even wore them during her 2022 New Year’s Eve hosting gig with her goddaughter Miley Cyrus. While the gloves and long sleeves are certainly a style choice, the country music icon has admitted that they also help cover up some tattoos on her hands and arms.
Dolly originally got these tattoos to hide scar tissue, something she has openly discussed. She told Vanity Fair, “Most of the tattoos, when I first started, I was covering up some scars that I had, ‘cause I have a tendency to have keloid scar tissue. I have a tendency where if I have any kind of scars anywhere, then they kind of have a purple tinge that I can never get rid of.” She added, “So mine are all pastels, what few that I have, and they’re meant to cover some scars. I’m not trying to make some big, bold statement. I thought, ‘Well, I’m going to kind of decorate these with some flowers or little butterflies or whatever’.”
Dolly Parton superfan Duane Gordon speculated another reason for her glove-wearing habit back in 2011. He said, “She has not publicly given her real reason for wearing them. Consequently, although many fans have asked me about them, I can’t give an answer with first-hand information. She has even been asked about them on a couple of television interviews, and she joked about them, saying in one she was wearing them because she was cold and in another because she thought they were cute. However, I can relay third-hand information that she was asked about the gloves by fans while filming scenes for her upcoming movie Joyful Noise and told them that last year she had had corrective hand surgery (medical, not cosmetic) and it left a scar that she’s covering. Again, I’ve not heard that directly from Dolly or her management, but I’m told that’s the answer she gave privately in Atlanta to those who asked.”
Dolly’s creative director Steve Summers also offered a simpler explanation, saying it’s part of her fashion. He explained, “People always ask why she always wears sleeves — well, she’s 73 years old, and she doesn’t like her elbows.” He added, “[They ask] ‘what’s wrong with her hands?’ She’s 73, and she doesn’t like them! It’s a normal woman thing.” Between hiding scars, covering tattoos, and simply feeling more comfortable with her look, Dolly’s gloves and long sleeves have become both a personal preference and a signature part of her style.
