Franklinite Doris McMillan’s sewing business Seams by Doris is in high demand for visiting celebrities just as much as local community members. For one example, Taylor Swift’s team hired her for backstage work during her most recent Eras Tour stop in Nashville.
McMillan knows how to work on a time crunch for live shows and lock in amongst backstage chaos to finish her alterations. Besides her sewing expertise, McMillan can also work well with all different types of people. She's an intuitive woman who understands others' motivations and personalities.
“Sound check is so fun,” she tells Williamson Scene. “That's the best concert, because everyone's cutting up, the energy's flowing, they're getting ready for the night.”
McMillan could make sewing her full-time gig — and she will when she retires from her job as community and alumni relations manager at New Hope Academy in Franklin — but for now, she sees it as a life-giving hobby.
“Sewing, to me, is healing,” she says. “My perspective on life and living is totally different from the average person, because it's hard for me to turn off. I put pieces together. I solve puzzles.”
She continues, "It's hard for me to entertain anything negative, because there's such beauty in creating. You know there’s going to be an end result. You start knowing that there’s going to be a finish.”
McMillan can easily spot a crooked seam, notice a zipper that isn’t flush or pick out an alteration that doesn’t blend with the original garment. She’s also very skilled at beading and specialty fabrics. McMillian works toward perfection, which she insists is possible — in garments anyway.
“I sew every day of my life,” she says. “I try not to. It’s hard not to, so it’s every day.”
McMillan’s mother was a seamstress, as was her great-grandmother and several cousins. She’s been sewing since she was 12 years old, starting with Barbie doll clothes. As a self-described latchkey kid, she also watched a lot of TV after school, and was inspired by the clothing of her childhood idols: Cher, Carol Burnett and Diana Ross. She was grateful for parents who encouraged her interest in sewing and clothing.
One of her daughters tinkers with sewing, and she has a granddaughter who has shown some interest, too. McMillan also teaches students at New Hope Academy who have an interest in sewing.
“That's why I believe in promoting the gift within children,” she says. “Everyone has a gift. You just have to get it when they're young, and you have to encourage them to follow their way of life and not force them.”
McMillan built much of her sewing and design skills while working with Naomi Judd for 23 years, and was working with Judd on the final tour when she died in 2022. Another Franklinite, Olympic figure skater Scott Hamilton, also taps her to work on his yearly Scott Hamilton & Friends charity show benefitting the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation cancer research nonprofit.
Working on the Hamilton show is a bit of a full-circle moment for McMillan, who mended costumes created by a student of Bob Mackie, the designer of many of her favorite Cher, Diana Ross and Carol Burnett outfits. That draw to stage costuming has rang true throughout her life.
In the old saying, “it takes a village,” McMillan is certainly a villager. Having lived in Franklin for 38 years, she calls Williamson County a connected community. To her, quality of life is seeing people she knows around every corner, especially former students.
McMillan is intentionally a part of the proverbial welcome wagon for people new to town. She encourages them to serve and be a part of the community, too. McMillan herself serves on the Franklin Transit Authority, the Mercy Community Health Care board, the Tennessee Historical Commission, and the Friends of Franklin Parks and River Walks committee.
Full of sage wisdom, McMillan wants people to have the opportunity to express themselves. That starts with children.
“Never dismiss the talents of a child,” she says. "I’ve been sewing since I was 12 years old, just tinkering in my room. That hobby, that skill, just developed over the years. It’s when opportunity meets with talent. If you see a child and they have talent, it’s important for us to invest in the hobbies and skills of young children. That really is our future.”