An IG fashion sensation and activist for the LGBTI community in London, Dolly has no dull days. We caught up with the four-legged icon and her two mums, Stella and Lucy, to discuss fame, fashion and fight for equal rights.
Dolly, being one of
A day in my life goes a little like this. My sole purpose of opening my eyes is to greet my baristas in Starbucks were I have a Puppachino and skinny blueberry muffin. Starbucks also doubles as my office. After answering my emails I like to have a stroll to Marylebone village or down to Regents park to hang with my homegirls! After a run, I really get to work, trend research with my Mum, photoshoot planning with my other Mum and LGBTQ campaign talks of how I can spread the word of love. After all my networking, eating, fashion talk, more eating, community work, eating, I head home for a full afternoon of sleep! You don't look this good without some serious Zzzzzzzzz's
Double the trouble or twice as nice, what is it like to have not one, but two mums?
Having two Mum's is all I have ever known. I have heard that some unfortunate people only have one! I mean how do they cope!? Who would massage your paws when your back was being scratched. My Mum's are full on, high energy and I like that. They have the love they do for me and each other because of all they have been through. They are definitely double the trouble, they taught me well.
What has been the highest point in your activist career?
I have a few things I am more than proud of so far in my activist career. Leading the London Pride march was a highlight. Balloons, love and lots of rainbows all of my favourite things in one space. I was there to march to show our families love and commitment to the LGBTQ community. The atmosphere was electric and the air kisses and cuddles weren't bad either. Buzzfeed featured me and I wore the crown of "the dog that reminds us love is love". That crown hasn't slipped yet. I was so proud. Working with Stonewall, charities and presenting a feature with 'gaystarnews' on National coming out day were all highlights. My work will continue to educate about inclusion, diversity and of course Love.
Stella & Lucy, your active participation in the LGBT community is remarkable, could you tell us a bit about your journey in the fight
We as Dolly's Mum's have been blessed to have found each other. To have strength in our ability to see past prejudices and gain strength from reaching out to others. We started campaigning more aggressively when we found ourselves in a position of exclusion. We found it implausible that we couldn't be accepted for simply loving each other. When we celebrated our love to each other by getting engaged we decided if we were to be "married" we wished to be actually be "married". We started to raise awareness in the fashion publications we worked with at the time and started a huge social media campaign to get marriage equality passed through parliament.
What has been your personal proudest moment
Our greatest achievement to date is being an integral part of the equality marriage bill, that and surviving. Being who you are can be more than difficult at times when everyone around you wants to be someone else. Dolly's platform has allowed us to reach out to people, be there for them and pave the way for open conversation.
What is yet to be done, and how can we help?
It may sound like a passing phrase but unfortunately there is still so much to be done. We have so many ideas on how the message of inclusion, diversity and love could be taught, shown and brought into the main stream. Bringing the image of family, home and community right onto the twenty first century. Education is needed, visuality is important and honesty is vital. Educating our youth is something that we are told is the biggest responsibility. We agree but our youths opinions are influenced and taught by the elders. We feel a whole education of love needs to be tailored to roll out to families with the emphasis on keeping our LGBTQ people safe. Visibility is our biggest gripe, there are so many people who have the ability to voice their opinion but don't! Everyone is entitled to live their lives as they wish but in the public eye you have a responsibility to share your views of support. This often gets tangled in fear of judgement, fear of rejection, fear of image. Fear is the biggest controlling factor in staying silent. We must speak freely to break down these walls. Love will always win and we are here to prove it.
Who is behind the designing of Dolly's outfits?
We have been fortunate to work with some fantastic brands over the last year, with lots of exciting news to follow. Dolly is known for her style and it does help to have a Mum in the fashion industry! She gets styled by a pro so she looks as fresh as canine possible. Fashion Weeks being a huge inspo for Dolly. She models her style on human trend and loves nothing more than to be noticed.
From Hiro + Wolf's current collection, what are Dolly's favourites?
We love Hiro + Wolf's new collection. Our personal picks are the rocket bandana and lead, the kikoy botanical stripe hound collar (loving the rainbow inspired stripes) and yes my neck is long enough to wear it! The yellow diamond poo pouch is a must have for all your city walking pups like myself.
Until next time bitches this is Dolly Pawton pawing out xx
