Funny woman Melissa McCarthy has always embraced her weight, despite Hollywood's glorification of all things skinny. Like many women, McCarthy loves shopping, especially with friends. However, she was often faced with the dilemma of a limited selection of clothing to fit her size or was forced to walk to an entirely different floor to find clothing designed for her figure. The Tammy actress took it upon herself to give women of all sizes a chance to shop together with her new fashion line. McCarthy opened up to People in their latest issue about why it was important to her to launch a clothing collection, as well as how shopping frustrations and getting dressed everyday played a factor.
The 45-year-old writer and producer has now added the title of fashion designer to her resume. While having her own line is a celebratory accomplishment, negative personal experiences and a lack of options led her to make the decision. Somewhere down the road the fun times she had getting dressed in the morning and trying on different outfits, lost its appeal and began to feel more like a chore.
"It had become a daily reminder of all of my imperfections," said McCarthy to People. "For the first time in my life it had stopped bringing me joy."
Her personal style, which once focused around what she was in the mood to wear, soon became a struggling battle of which clothes in the closet would actually fit her. McCarthy dealt with a common problem that many people face today: weight fluctuation. The lack of options was emotionally and mentally draining. Instead of complaining about the problem, the comedian took it upon herself to change it. McCarthy launched the Melissa McCarthy line for Seven7.
"I've been every size under the rainbow, and my sense of style never left me, but my options did," says McCarthy. "I created a fashion line that is for all sizes."
McCarthy, who is married to fellow comedian and director Ben Falcone, made it clear in her interview that this line was designed for all women, discarding any ideas about the fashion collection strictly meeting the needs of plus size women. The sizes range from four to 28 and is currently being sold in Nordstrom and on HSN. McCarthy hopes the line will allow women to have more of a variety with their selection and hopefully give them a better chance to express themselves.
"You should be able to wake up and say, 'I am wearing weird boots and leopard pants and a ripped-up T-shirt and a leather jacket and a big bow in my hair,'" says McCarthy, adding that she makes sure to always follow her own fashion advice. "I'm a mom with two kids - and I wear leather pants and cheetah-print and all kinds of crazy stuff."
Melissa McCarthy is featured in the Sept. 21, 2015 issue of People, hitting newsstands Friday, Sept. 11.
