Chely Wright's Confessions From Inside a Country Singer's Closet

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Comedy writer Bonnie Datt once bought a chainmail vest "for clubbing"—a purchase she later came to lament, once she realized that chainmail isn't particularly slimming. Inspired by this, she now spends her spare time asking famous people to dish about purchases which they initially loved—but ended up regretting, for Buyer's Remorse.

Gorgeous country singer Chely Wright has sold over a million albums, was named Top New Female Vocalist in 1994 by the Academy of Country Music and later had a number one single with the song "Single White Female." Even more notable than all of these accomplishments, however, is that she is the only country music star who has ever been brave enough to come out of the closet. In her moving autobiography, Like Me: Confessions of a Heartland Country Singer, Chely writes eloquently about what a difficult task it was to hide her sexual preference, while working in a field that doesn't tend to condone homosexuality. Ironically, when Chely told us her buyer's remorse story, it involved things she keeps in the closet.

Racked: Can you tell us what you've had buyer's remorse about?

Chely Wright: Yes, this is what I've done for years. I shop for clothing and I hate doing it. But when I have to go on tour, I go spend a couple of days with my stylist in the stores and my stylist convinces me that I have to have, "That pair of pants" or "that shirt" or "that dress." Cut to a year later: ninety percent of it is still hanging in my closet with the price tag on—like a Chloe top that cost $900.
· Chely Wright [Official Site]
· Buyer's Remorse Posts [Racked]