Ayesha Vardag in cardigan shame

‘Diva of Divorce’ rocks knitted apparel in promotional post on firm website — despite advising staff to steer clear

Family law firm boss Ayesha Vardag, who made waves in the national press after we uncovered she advised staff against wearing cardigans, has been photographed wearing, you guessed it, a cardigan.

It has come to our attention that the ‘Diva of Divorce’ wore a beige cardi for her “inaugural appearance” on ITV’s This Morning in 2013. She paired the knit with a knee-length black dress and statement necklace.

A promotional post on the law firm’s website explains Vardag appeared on the daytime TV show’s ‘Legal Eagles’ segment to answer viewers’ family law-related conundrums.

Legal Cheek readers will be familiar with ‘Vardigan-gate’ after we exclusively reported last week that Vardag, who runs family law firm Vardags, urged female staff to ditch their cardigans in an incredible 1,000-word dress code email. The story hit the national press over the weekend.

“Cardigans are almost never ok,” Vardag wrote in the email that was circulated among staff in summer 2019. But it seems there are some exceptions.

Emma Gill, director of divorce & family law and head of Vardags’ Manchester office, responded to our request for comment. She explained:

“Different occasions require different outfits — what is appropriate in a relaxed interview setting is different to a client-facing office environment. Cardigans are a great choice for many occasions but, after all, there is a reason the hit US TV show was called Suits and not Cardigans.”

Comfy and practical, cardigans might not be the most glam workwear option, but Vardag went on to claim in the email she “once sent a trainee in a cardigan out of a client meeting until she could borrow or find a jacket to wear”.

The divorce lawyer also reminded staff in the leaked memo that “tailored jackets or formal dresses/suits are business dress” and “nothing homespun or homely or what you’d cosy up by the fire in”.