Melissa McCarthy Wants to Ban the Term 'Plus-Size'

As Melissa McCarthy prepares to launch her first clothing line, the comedienne is speaking out about some of the more negative aspects of fashion -- and how she hopes to combat them.

At the top of McCarthy's list is the term "plus-size," which the Oscar nominee says is disrespectful and dismissive. In an interview with Refinery29, McCarthy said her line, Melissa McCarthy Seven7, would cater to a wider group of women, and be more inclusive than your typical brand, celebrity or otherwise.

"Women come in all sizes," the actress explained. "Seventy percent of women in the United States are a size 14 or above, and that's technically 'plus-size,' so you're taking your biggest category of people and telling them, 'You're not really worthy.' I find that very strange."

McCarthy added that she thought the plus-size terminology was "very bad business" and "doesn't make a lot of sense numbers-wise." To that end, McCarthy is simply selling her clothing in sizes 4 through 28 (no X's standing in for larger sizes here, thank you), and has gotten several retailers to agree to sell each piece in the same section, rather than "segregating" the larger-numbered sizes in a separate area.

The actress said she was inspired to start the line thanks in part to her own negative experiences trying to shop for clothes that fit her curves. McCarthy had trouble finding fashions early on in her career (including costumers for her character when she starred on "Gilmore Girls" in the early 2000s), and she doesn't want women who don't have her same resources to suffer from a lack of options.

"I just don't get why we always have to group everything into a good or bad, right or wrong category," she told Refinery29 of banning "plus-size." "I just think, if you're going to make women's clothing, make women's clothing. Designers that put everyone in categories are over-complicating something that should be easy."

McCarthy's line has already launched on HSN, and will be released at retailers worldwide -- including Macy's, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Evans, and Lane Bryant -- later this month.

[via: Refinery29]

Photo credit: Getty Images for HSN



from The Moviefone Blog http://ift.tt/1NiaLYH
via IFTTT