Karlia Lykourgou is a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers. She was called to the bar in 2013 and specialises in criminal defence cases. However, in 2020, she founded Ivy & Normanton, the first legal outfitter specialising in legal attire for women. 

“The struggle that women experience is different to the struggle that men can experience in the same industry. And I want to celebrate our contribution and assist those who don't come from the backgrounds that are traditional to the bar, to feel welcome, to come and flourish in it.”

Ivy & Normanton

Ivy & Normanton takes its name from Ivy Williams and Helena Normanton respectively, the first and second women to be called to the bar. 

But why do women need separate legal attire outfitters?

In 2016 Karlia went shirt shopping and was confronted with a limited selection of legal shirts for women, compared to the rows of shirts for mens. 

“I just wanted to look as smart as they did, to feel as professional as they did when I was in court… I tried on a shirt, and it didn't fit like a woman's. It fitted like a school shirt, you know, straight down from the armpits, lots of volume.”

And to add insult to injury, it was expensive. So she left the legal outfitters without a shirt, but with the idea to set up a legal outfitters specialising in court dress for women. 

“And that idea grew, the more time I spent in advocates’ rooms observing what the issues were with women's legal dress and simple things like having a collarette with velcro all the way up to the top meant that women's hair would often get caught in the velcro, it's very uncomfortable.”

Launching

“I didn't overthink it. I just knew it needed to be done. And I knew that when I started it, I would be very busy. I didn't appreciate the response I would receive when I launched and I was totally overwhelmed when we launched in June last year, and it just sort of blew up in an afternoon.”

Their range is very customer-led, they listen to what female barristers want and they start to fill the gaps with what’s missing. 

“It's a very niche product, legal dress. We just want to make sure that we're providing what isn't there already, so that everyone can get on with the important job that they're doing. And no one has to feel excluded or uncomfortable or less than.”

The importance of court wear

“Legal dress serves a purpose in highlighting the formality of proceedings in a society that is increasingly casual. Having legal dress reminds us of how serious the issues we are discussing are.”

Before Ivy & Normanton, there was court attire for women, but it wasn’t diverse and it wasn’t comfortable. With Ivy & Normanton, Karlia has enabled women to express themselves through their court clothing choices, and to do the job while dressed appropriately, and look better while they’re at it. 

“There's that old adage  - the clothes maketh the man. And when you feel good, when you look good, when you're comfortable, your mind isn't considering your discomfort, it is focusing on the things that are at hand.”

Because if your brain is even 1% thinking about your attire, then it’s not doing the job it’s being paid to do, and that’s not fair of you, and it’s not fair of the client you’re representing. 

The other reason Karlia feels so strongly about court attire women is that you have to dress a certain way to sell yourself to your professional client. You want them to put trust in you, to have faith in you because you’re their voice in court. And when you don’t look the part, you’re starting from a disadvantage because people will make assumptions about you. 

“If you are looking ramshackle, if you look disorganised then it might lead your client or the jury to think that your arguments or that the rest of your case is going to be disorganised or unkempt as well.”

 

Launching a hijab for female barristers

Ivy & Normanton have recently launched their court hijab. It’s made of sustainable bamboo silk so it's breathable, it's hypoallergenic. It's not too thick to make you hot, and it's not too thin so it doesn’t show your hair. Because it's bamboo silk, it's got a texture to it so it doesn't slide off your head either. You can tuck it in your collarette or over your collar or under your suit.

“For us to put out a product that was really trying to help women express their religion and who they are in this very traditionally white male privileged industry, meant a lot to a lot of people.”

Karlia wanted to portray real women and a diverse image of what it means to be a woman in law. 

“There's this image of what it is to be a barrister. You’re meant to be almost godlike, and always fearless and just always putting up with everything, and we are real people.”

Karlia’s Montford Maxim

Karlia’s advice for any young women coming behind her to the bar: first of all, never be less than you are. Secondly, find someone or something that inspires you and carry it with you through difficult times. 

“Sometimes you need someone else's words to give you a nudge back onto the track, but it can be extremely effective, even if it's just a Beyonce song, which works fantastically.”

Discussed in this podcast episode:

• Launching Ivy & Normanton
• The importance of court wear
• What it means to be a diverse woman in law
• Let Beyonce inspire you

Links

• https://montfort.london/
• https://montfort.london/our-team/
• Karlia Lykourgou
• Ivy & Normanton