Remember when the movie Bridesmaids came out and everyone loved it and breakout star, Melissa McCarthy? She killed it hosting SNL, and she was nominated for an Oscar for her role. I mean, who didn't love her? Fashion designers, that's who. Several turned down designing an Oscars gown for McCarthy in 2012. I mean, that she had to ask at all ... good grief!
"Two Oscars ago, I couldn't find anybody to do a dress for me," she told Redbook. "I asked five or six designers — very high-level ones who make lots of dresses for people — and they all said no."
No, thank you, we'd rather not dress the most beloved comic in America. Because. We only dress skinny people, apparently. That's so pathetic! There's the insult to McCarthy, for one thing. But it's also such a BORING choice, saying no to her. Why would you do that?
Don't high-end designers get bored with dressing the same body types all the time? You'd think they'd be interested in the challenge of making a dress for a completely different shape. And it's not even about "OMG, how do we make her look thinner?!?" It's about "How do we redefine beauty? What's sexy about Melissa's body? What's interesting about it?" I think MarinaRinaldi, the designer who took on the challenge of dressing McCarthy for the 2012 Oscars, did a smashing job of making Melissa look spectacular that year.
LAME. What a failure of imagination. And it's especially ironic, considering Melissa McCarthy is such an imaginative, boundary-breaking comedian. A creative force like her needs equally creative clothes, don't you think?
Anyway, no surprise to hear McCarthy saying she's been "disappointed" in shopping -- she once famously said everything in her size is either for a "98-year-old woman or a 14-year-old hooker." What is surprising is that before she became an actress and comic, she was planning a career in fashion design. For real. She says she's always sewn and came to New York to attend fashion school, only to get side-tracked into stand-up comedy.
So no wonder she's so dissatisfied with plus-size clothing. I think everyone is, but for someone who's especially fashion conscious, it must be painful to have the money for some serious shopping and not have anywhere to spend it.
Anyway, great news: McCarthy teamed up with designer Daniella Pearl on a plus-size clothing line. Now the pressure is on -- will Pearl be a total fashion game-changer? I hope so!
Do you agree with Melissa -- are the clothes for plus-size women generally disappointing?
Image via Redbook