Melissa McCarthy Says Malls Try to ‘Hide’ Plus Size Stores

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Plus size fashion might be  more mainstream than ever right now, but it still has a long way to go before it’s actually mainstream and everyone drops the “plus.” And few people are as tuned into the struggle as Melissa McCarthy.

The Spy actress, who’s set to launch her first clothing line in partnership with Sunrise Brands this August, spoke with More magazine (via E! Online) about the frustration she’s felt while shopping for clothes to wear on the red carpet, and off.

“People don’t stop at size 12,” she tells the magazine. “I feel like there’s a big thing missing where you can’t dress to your mood above a certain number.”

Aside from not being able to find clothes that fit her body or her mood, McCarthy says that, sometimes, just finding the stores, themselves, is a challenge. “[Malls] segregate plus-size,“ she says. "It’s an odd thing that you can’t go shopping with your friends because your store is upstairs hidden by the tire section. ‘We’ll put you gals over there because we don’t want to see you and you probably don’t want to be seen.’

“There is just this weird thing about how we perceive women in this country,” added McCarthy, who’s hoping to combat some of those unfortunate and frankly, completely unacceptable problems with her own 80-piece line. "I would love to be a part of breaking that down. Only wear solids? Don’t wear bright colors? That’s not real. Somebody made up these rules, and I disagree.“

Called ‘Melissa McCarthy Seven7,’ items will range in size from 4 to 28, cost $59 to $159, and will be available at such mainstream retailers as Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, and Macy’s, plus her own website, MelissaMcCarthy.com.

Considering how outspoken McCarthy has been in the past about her struggles finding dresses to wear to awards shows—and even designers who are willing to work with her—her line will likely be a home run with customers when it’s released late this summer. At the very least, all the press will help raise awareness of the issues plus sized shoppers are forced to deal with every single time they dress themselves.

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Funny Girl Melissa McCarthy Gets Serious About Designing Her New Plus-Size Collection
10 Reasons 2014 Was Major for Plus-Size
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