Why Divorce Fashion Deserves Your Attention
From Marilyn Monroe to Kim Kardashian, take a look at the fascinating history of separation style.
While hours of time and effort are put into creating the perfect big day, wedding day fashion usually culminates with a variation of a white dress. Not that bridalwear can’t be enchanting or impactful, it is its own $73 billion industry after all. But few wedding dresses inspire fashion beyond the realm of bridal since they all convey the same message of marital commitment. The outfit of a divorceé, on the other hand, is far more exciting to dissect. And with so many celebrity splits in recent history, namely Kim Kardashian’s divorce from Kanye West, it seems appropriate that we ready our divorce fashion lexicon to analyze the incoming looks.
Before the British Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857, only extremely wealthy men could file for divorce. Prior to the law, an official end to one’s marriage had to be granted by an Act of Parliament. This was incredibly expensive, and of course, only available to men. The new rule allowed women to divorce on the grounds of adultery, if they could prove their husband’s infidelity as well as additional culpability like assualt, incest, and or rape. So it was possible for women to divorce, but with all of these standards and no system in place to assist in their pursuit, still very difficult to attain.
If you’re a fan of Netflix historical drama The Crown, you may remember this set of rules from when Eileen Parker seeks to divorce her absent and adulterous husband Mike Parker. This caused quite the stir both on the show and in real life, because Mr. Parker was personal secretary at the time to Prince Phillip, The Duke of Edinburgh.
It’s notable that in The Crown, Chloe Pirrie who plays Eileen is dressed almost exclusively in pants during the episode she fights to leave her husband. This choice on the part of costume designer Amy Roberts, is indicative of Ms. Parker’s implied independence. Other female characters who shared scenes with Pirrie all wore skirts, further emphasizing the decision. It was a somewhat heavy handed reference to the fact that she was the one “wearing the pants,” in her household and marriage. An accurate assessment seeing as she was caring for their two children, tending to their household, and working, all while her husband galavanted with other women in London and abroad.
In 1969, the passage of the United Kingdom's Divorce Reform Act gave women the right to divorce for reasons beyond physical abuse, insanity, or unfaithfulness of their spouse. This new law made it so couples could legally split after being separated for two years, or five years if only one party was consenting. It was mirrored in the United States that same year when Governor Ronald Reagan signed the Family Law Act of 1969, making California the first no-fault divorce law state in the U.S. Neither person had to prove any faults of the other, or justify the change beyond the disintegration of their relationship.
The legendary divorce of Prince Charles from Princess Diana occurred under this precedent in 1992, after the two had spent many years living apart as well as both seeing other people. Despite their marriage being famously unhappy, Princess Diana never wanted the divorce from the Prince. But soon after their official split, she showed him what he'd be missing in an exquisite off-the-shoulder short black dress dubbed the "revenge dress," by popular culture.
The slinky black dress did not rise to fame merely for its seductive appeal, though—the timing of the outfit was everything. That night in June 1994, Diana appeared publicly at a party hosted by Vanity Fair while Prince Charles’ tell-all documentary premiered on television across the country. The documentary was intended to make Prince Charles seem more sympathetic, post-separation from the universally beloved Diana, the People's Princess. Unfortunately for the Prince, the film backfired completely due to an interview in which Charles was asked if he’d been “faithful and honorable” to his then-wife Diana. The Prince replied “yes,” at first, but continued on to say: “until it became irretrievably broken down, us both having tried.” This ultra-fine confession was all the public needed to resume their contempt for the Prince.
Several years later in 1996, the landmark White v. White case established a new precedent that the division of household assets should recognize the “homemaker,” AKA the woman, as an equal contributor, and more fairly split finances between husband and wife. This came not long after the infamous divorce of Marilyn Monroe from Yankees player Joe DiMaggio, just 247 days after they had married. Monroe accused her then-husband of mental cruelty and was granted her wish to separate, no doubt aided by her starling status.
What Monroe wore that day, a skin-tight black zip-front dress underneath a glamorous black satin blazer paired with pearls and white silk gloves, garnered more attention than the hearing itself. The actress' little black dress, equipped with easy access via the full-length zipper, was a scandal at the time. The fashion choice felt conscious and sent a message akin to "single and ready to mingle" on Monroe's part. The dress went up for auction in 2019 at a starting bid of $20,000 and sold for a whopping $100,000.
Last year, child star turned fashion entrepreneur Mary-Kate Olsen donned a divorce get-up not so different from Monroe’s, and attracted a similar level of attention. The Row CEO officiated her divorce from French banker Olivier Sarkozy last month over a private Zoom call, but screenshots of the hearing leaked from court reporters and the Internet went wild. Olsen wore a sleek black turtleneck, reflective of her fashion label’s similarly elegant and streamlined aesthetic. Her hair however was left wavy and straggling beside her often not-so-sad expression. The ensemble in combination with Olsen's favorable demeanor sparked meme after meme online.
More recently, we see that the single life looks good on Kim Kardashian. For those of you who have followed the Kardashian-West relationship and divorce timeline, you'll know that the Skims founder was Kanye West's muse, and he was her stylist. However, amid their recent divorce in February 2021, Kardashian has taken the reigns on her own style both on the street and on red carpets, experimenting with her looks in new colors, and creative ways to showcase her individual self.
