By Mary Whitfill, editor-in-chief

Melissa McCarthy, Hollywood’s newest A-list funny girl, has become more and more vocal about the clothing line she launched with dress maker and collaborator Daniella Pearl. Voicing her disappointment in the fashion industry, she reveals that designers flat refused to make dresses for her, not wanting to deal with her plus-sized figure.

Although she doesn’t name names, she confessed that it took her asking, and being rejected by, six designers before she could find someone to make her a dress for the Oscars. While a dress was eventually made by Marina Rinaldi, what hope does that give every day plus sized women? If a wealthy, famous and funny woman can’t find clothing for the biggest award show of the season, how are normal women supposed to find dresses for office parties and dance recitals?

“When I go shopping, most of the time I’m disappointed,” McCarthy said in the July issue of Redbook. “Two Oscars ago, I couldn’t find anybody to do a dress for me. I asked five or six designers — very high-level ones who make lots of dresses for people — and they all said no.”

McCarthy has a long standing designer dream: planning to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology when she first came to New York, she found her comedy chops doing standup and hasn’t looked back. However, an undergraduate background in clothing and textiles from Southern Illinois University gives her a base for her new line.

Going forward, McCarthy and Pearl will be working on a plus-size line called Pearl hoping to make women “feel good about themselves.”

Catch McCarthy next “Tammy,” a new comedy out now.

Photo courtesy Mingle MediaTV, Creative Commons.