“I just wanted to do a basic closet that I couldn’t find,” sighs Melissa McCarthy about her new line, Melissa McCarthy Seven7. And while the line officially debuts on September 1, McCarthy is taking to HSN on August 13 to introduce the world to her fashion design persona. “Some days I want to be prim and proper, and others I want to be in a band,” adds McCarthy. “I lost the ability to do that with clothes.” The line is comprised of “everything a woman needs,” she says, from dresses and tailored separates to denim, all priced under $150: “The fun of it is you should be able to put these things together and not have to make a choice about going out to dinner or getting the sweater. Wear the sweater to dinner."

Though McCarthy, who stars in the upcoming all-female Ghostbusters, made a name for herself in Hollywood with Gilmore Girls and Bridesmaids, fashion has long been her secret calling. “It’s always what I thought I would do,” explains McCarthy with a tinge of longing in her voice. “I went into clothing and textiles in college and moved here with [shoe designer] Brian Atwood. I was going to finish at FIT and he made me do stand-up on the second night.”

And while McCarthy may hold a joking grudge toward her designer friend, her obsession with fashion never subsided, even as she’s been occasionally critical about some of the looks that presented her on the red carpet. “I remember being put into things and hearing people say, ‘This is great,’ ” she says. “But it was just forcing your body into something—I have to feel good to be confident and to be myself.” The actress currently works with stylists Judy Swartz and Magda Berliner for her red-carpet appearances and even incorporated a few pieces from her label while promoting the film Spy earlier this summer. “I like when it’s someone’s own style,” she explains. “Anytime something has a personal feel to it, it’s authentic, and I find it inspiring."