Dolly Parton outfit from 1977 Fort Worth concert just sold. Its value may shock you.
Patric Parkey didn’t know much about the bedazzled orange cape he bought at a Nashville auction a few weeks ago, other than the fact that his idol Dolly Parton once wore it on stage in the 1970s.
To Parkey, who arguably owns the world’s largest private collection of Dolly memorabilia in his east Tennessee home, the lack of provenance didn’t matter that much. He was attracted to the design of the orange and pearl rhinestones, which to him looked like the star of Bethlehem, and he ended up paying about $5,000 for it.
Then his friend came across a Star-Telegram story published this week about Parton’s concert at Fort Worth’s Panther Hall on Dec. 2, 1977.
The story featured recently digitized negatives of photos taken by the Star-Telegram during the show — photos that hadn’t been seen in 46 years. And despite the images being in black and white, Parkey recognized the sleeved tunic-like cape immediately.
“Dolly is a very religious person, and if you look at the pictures — even in black and white — in the middle it looks like the star of Bethlehem,” he told the Star-Telegram on Tuesday from his home in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
Now that he knows where and when Parton wore the garment, “I like it that much more,” he said.
Many of Parton’s gowns in the 1970s were made by her seamstress Lucy Adams. The orange cape was one of three outfits that Parkey bought at the Julien’s Auctions sale in Nashville in November, bringing his total number of Parton outfits in his collection to 54. One of the other capes he bought at the auction cost more than $10,000.
Parkey and his husband also own thousands of other items including photos, posters, shoes, dolls, games and even a pink bed where Parton slept at Dollywood. About eight years ago, Parton herself visited their home to admire their shrine.
Parkey was born in Dallas and lived in the Euless area before moving to east Tennessee about 13 years ago. That made the discovery of the orange cape’s Cowtown connection even more exciting.
“Things work in mysterious ways,” he said after seeing the Star-Telegram photos. “I almost just died. Really? Fort Worth, Texas?”
This story was originally published December 19, 2023 at 5:28 PM.
