I almost didn’t get to see Dolly Parton. The country music idol is in Frisco to host the Academy of Country Music Awards, along with cohost and fellow hillbilly hero Garth Brooks, this Thursday. While here, she’s opened a pop-up shop, called Dolly! All Access, at the Star through Sunday.
On Tuesday, I drove up to get a sneak peek of the shop. A security guard blocked the entrance by the Tangerine Salon. After a brief squabble, and a reference by a work acquaintance who happened to be walking out the door, he let me in the shop.
Even without her photo and likeness plastered everywhere, you immediately sense Dolly’s presence. Walking in, you’re invited to strut down the red carpet amid costume displays of Dolly’s most iconic outfits. Throughout the store, you can peruse a selection of her most Dolly-esque costumes from over the years—the sequined, fuchsia ensemble she wore to the 2000 ACMs, the butterfly-and-rhinestone-spangled look she wore on the single cover of Sent From Above, and more. There’s an in-house DJ spinning vintage Dolly Parton records and plenty of sparkly and shiny photo ops. Don’t forget to grab a photo under her signature neon sign.
There are banquettes and displays dedicated to her various merchandise ventures. A puppy dream house shows off the Doggy Parton accessories for your pooches—think cowboy hats and a blonde bombshell wig. Her collaboration with Duncan Hines, which is sold out online, is housed in an all-pink kitchen set up. You can sit in Dolly’s director chair and sample her line of signature fragrances with Scent Beauty, including my favorite, Scent From Above.
There are Dolly Funko Pop! Dolls, books, and photos and merch from her new album, Rockstar, which drops in November. You can peruse classic merchandise selections, like Dolly T-shirts, a “Cup of Ambition” coffee mug, and a “Backwoods Barbie” trucker hat.
“We hoped that everybody would just enjoy having this pop-up shop and all the merchandise,” Parton said in a press conference later. She said that while she had a hand in organizing the event, her team worked hard to put it all together. “I thought they did such a good job—it’s like going into a museum!”
I was so caught up in the shop I almost missed Parton’s talk. She had already begun talking when I walked in. As I walked up the stairs, I heard her voice first—her gentle way of speaking and country twang that is uniquely her’s. Parton captured the crowd with stories and jokes, assuring attendees that her sip of water was absolutely not a taste of moonshine. Her charm and grace did not disappoint.
While she talked about the shop, she used the conference to speak about on her long career. She recalled singing in her family’s Tennessee cabin as a child, using a tobacco stick and tin can as a microphone. “I take joy in the fact that I have been able to see all my little Smoky Mountain dream come true,” she says.
Parton also reflected on the recent mass shooting in Allen. On May 6, a gunman killed eight people and injured seven more at the Allen Premium Outlets, about a 15-minute drive from the Star complex in Frisco.
“Anytime you see that you think, ‘not again,” she said. “Our hearts go out to everyone.” Parton said the song she plans to sing at the ACM Awards show will be focused on healing “and all about why can’t we love one another?”
3–10 p.m., Thurs.; noon–8 p.m. Fri. & Sat., noon–6 p.m. Sun. Dolly! All Access, 3620 The Star Blvd., ste. 1205, Frisco.
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