How to divorce the A-list way
LAST YEAR, actor Laura Dern won an Oscar for her portrayal of powerhouse attorney Nora Fanshaw in Marriage Story. Laura Wasser – LA’S go-to lawyer – is thought to be inspiration for the character. If that doesn’t attest to Laura’s status, her CV will: she’s representing Kim Kardashian as she divorces Kanye West and has guided half of Hollywood through settlements, including Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, Britney Spears and Mariah Carey.
How did she find the Marriage Story portrayal? ‘Not very realistic, frankly,’ she says. ‘[Laura Dern] called and said, “I just want to tell you, I know the office looks like yours. I know the clothes look like yours. But it’s not you.” I thought it was really entertaining, but I did not relate.’
She’s speaking over Zoom from her home in LA. Her dazzling Hollywood smile must fit right in around her clientele. She counts Vice President Kamala Harris as a close friend. ‘She’s super-cool. My mom passed away and she called me that day,’ she says.
Laura does get starstruck – but not around the people you might expect: she had a fangirl moment meeting a woman whose bread-baking Instagram account she follows. ‘I have a lot of respect for most of the famous people that I represent. But because you see them at such a vulnerable stage, you realise that they are just normal people going through a difficult time. Remember, I’m not usually seeing them at their best.’
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Laura, 52, doesn’t think she’ll marry again. She’s divorced and has two sons, aged 15 and 11. ‘I don’t know why. I can’t think of a good reason to get married.’ After a year spent incarcerated with our partners, she’s probably not alone. In fact, law firms in the UK reported rises in divorce inquiries during lockdown last year. In the US, Laura has seen a spike in people signing up to her online divorce platform, It’s Over Easy. Starting at $699 (£508) it’s a cheaper option than going through her law firm, where the retainer is $25k (£18k) and the hourly rate $950 (£690). She hopes to launch it in the UK soon. ‘So, yes, [divorce] is on the rise. But I actually have found that there are many families and couples who have really come together and worked through things during this time.’
She finds the most common reason for divorce is when there is ‘a lack of connection, a lack of communication, they’ve just grown too far apart’. But divorce can be made more palatable by educating yourself on what to expect, she says. ‘Be kind, especially if you have children. You’re going to be dealing with this person for the rest of your life. Don’t burn a bridge. Treat your divorce more like a business transaction you are entering into with a family member who will continue being your family member afterwards.’
She recommends getting a neutral party on-board who can ‘help you figure out what’s best for your kids in terms of custody, how a budget will work’. And she suggests therapy for couples who are still in a good place. ‘There will be times in your marriage when things are going to be crappy and so you might as well be able to know how to tap into that so that you can talk, because otherwise everything gets repressed. That’s when resentment builds,’ she says.
‘Divorce really is the great equaliser,’ she adds. ‘Whether I’m representing a pro bono client... or it’s one of the clients at the firm who’s rich, famous and powerful, they all really have the same fears and sadness.’
FOR THOSE OF US who haven’t had a good hair day in months, 12 April can’t come soon enough. Not booked? You’ll likely have to wait even longer to see your hairdresser; those appointments fill up fast. But to help you through this final slog of split ends and root regrowth, the fashion gods have bestowed a gift upon us: the baseball cap is back. According to global fashion search platform Lyst, searches for caps are up 85% since the start of the year, with logo styles by Prada, Balenciaga, Gucci and Nike driving the most searches. ‘They have definitely been a growing trend for us at Net-a-porter,’ says senior market editor Libby Page, ‘in neutral shades, such as camel, but also in fun colours such as fuchsia.’ Loro Piana’s cashmere version has already sold out on the site.
You can thank Celine’s Hedi Slimane for making them zeitgeisty; for his S/S ’21 collection they were styled with almost every look. Obviously, celebrities love baseball caps (see: Irina Shayk, Victoria Beckham, Rihanna, Rosie Huntington-whiteley), but us ‘normals’ are falling for them too. The appeal is clear in a year in which we’ve fallen hard for athleisure. In 2020 we promoted leggings and hoodies from Sundaysonly to wear-everywhere; the baseball cap is the 2021 evolution of this. ‘It’s one of the easiest ways to achieve an elevated sports-luxe look,’ says Perfect Moment’s creative director Jane Gottschalk.
There might also be another reason that the baseball cap is enjoying a return right now: Princess Diana. Thanks to The Crown, a whole new generation has fallen for the Diana look. She, arguably, looked even better in a baseball cap than she did in a tiara, wearing hers with tailored blazers and jeans tucked into Western-style boots.
It’s this high/low spirit that makes the baseball cap the ultimate bridge buy. Its zero-effort look will work now and give your re-entry wardrobe a suitably laid-back, business-casual spin. It’s a no-commitment nod to the new season for those of us who aren’t ready for anything that demands too much effort. Just chuck it on and go.
We’ve not just forgotten how to get dressed in the past year; we’ve also lost the art of small talk. And there is the final stroke of genius from the baseball cap – it will allow you to carry on going incognito, even when masks cease to be a thing.