I'm sure you have heard the story of Dolly Parton's "Coat of Many Colors". When Dolly was a little girl growing up in the Tennessee hills her mother did what lots of mountain women had been doing for generations. She made quilts out of little square bits of mismatched cloth. The first quilt I ever slept under was one of these my Grandmother made by hand from various pieces cut from empty feed sacks

Since Dolly's mom Avia Lee had a box of various pieces of rags and Dolly had no coat, the next obvious step for the talented seamstress was to make the little girl something to keep her warm on her walk to school. Dolly made the resulting garment famous in her 1971 number one hit "Coat of Many Colors".

The actual coat was lost over the years after Dolly outgrew it. Dolly said it was probably dismantled and the rags used for something else. After all, there were twelve kids in the Parton family with plenty of sewing to keep Avia busy. After Dolly's theme park Dollywood became popular, she had her mom make a replica of the coat to display in the East Tennessee attraction.

Now you can dress your little girl in a replica of the "Coat of Many Colors" made by another East Tennessee seamstress, Shirley Henshall of the little town of Soddy Daisy. Shirley has an on-line company called IvyRose boutique that sells hundreds of these replica coats. Each is hand made to order.

 

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Shirley Henshall via etsy
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Shirley can even make a special one for your 18" doll

Shirley Henshall via Etsy
Shirley Henshall via Etsy
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Dolly was so proud of the coat and the song she wrote and recorded that she even had a replica made into an adult size dress that she sometimes wears in public:

Premiere Of Warner Bros. Television's "Dolly Parton's Coat Of Many Colors" - Arrivals
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And how about this sexy little reproduction?

51st Academy Of Country Music Awards - Press Room
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OK, That may be stretching it a little far but you get the idea. You might want to check out Shirley's little company on the banks of the Soddy Daisy lake in East Tennessee and see if there's a "Coat of Many Colors" your little girl may like. It's available on etsy. In the meantime let's relive Dolly's signature song.....maybe your little girl would enjoy looking at the book Dolly wrote and singing along with "Coat of Many Colors"...

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