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Cindy Crawford, Laura Dern, Monica Lewinsky and Uzo Aduba gathered on Rodeo Drive to toast Kristina O’Neill and Laura Brown’s empowering release

Her last store party in Beverly Hills turned into the dance party of the year. And on Thursday, Oct. 23, designer Tory Burch once again brought out an impressive group of friends — this time to celebrate Kristina O’Neill and Laura Brown’s new book, All the Cool Girls Get Fired: How to Let Go of Being Let Go and Come Back on Top.

The front of the Rodeo Drive flagship hosted something of a fashion show with the arrival of guests — who included Cindy Crawford, Laura Dern, Rebecca Gayheart and Max Greenfield.

Credit: Cody Marquez/BFA.com

After mingling over Champagne, spicy margaritas, sliders and fries (served in paper cones printed with quotes from the book), partygoers assembled around the stairs — where Kiernan Shipka, Janicza Bravo, Bella Heathcote, Lake Bell, Monica Lewinsky, Jurnee Smollett, Santigold, Uzo Aduba and Zoey Deutch stood in a line.

Credit: Cody Marquez/BFA.com

First, Burch kicked things off. “I’m sure everyone in this room either has been fired, was almost fired or should have been fired,” she said. “It isn’t the end — it’s just the beginning of something smarter, cooler and much much bigger.”

Then author Brown took the mic. Now the founder of LB Media and the chair of (RED)’s Creative Council, she’d once been fired from her editor-in-chief role at InStyle magazine. Friend O’Neill, now the editor-in-chief of Sotheby’s Magazine, previously lost her EIC job at WSJ Magazine. 

“We know that in the creative businesses, oftentimes you’re judged on how you perform — there’s work, there’s no work,” Brown said. “The thing to really believe in all the time is yourself.”

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Then, the women lined up recited passes from the book.

Credit: Cody Marquez/BFA.com

Shipka kicked things off. “So, you got fired — laid off, let go, reduced, restructured, canned, shit-canned,” she read. “Or if you want to spin it (and we don’t suggest you do), you ‘left.’ Well, welcome to the party, baby!”

“Hello, I’m Janicza,” said Bravo, donning Tory Burch’s deconstructed satin skirt and cuffed cotton shirt with the peep-toe Mary Jane ballet and pierced calf hair handbag. “I’ve been fired, and I’m so grateful for it!”

“I’m Lake … and I’ve also been fired,” echoed Bell, before launching into her passage. “So why should getting fired define you? Why should you let it? … Do not attach your value to where you work. Your value lies within you. Read this in a Brené Brown voice.“

Lewinsky got the biggest applause when she prefaced her reading with, “Hi, I’m Monica. I don’t want to show anybody up, but I was fired from the White House.”

Credit: Cody Marquez/BFA.com

Lewinsky, wearing a Tory Burch silk bow blouse and wrap skirt with a pierced suede bag, then read: “Being fired is a universal experience and one of the greatest equalizers, because everyone feels the same: like shit.”

“Hi — I’m Zoey, and I’ve also been fired,” began Deutsch, who wore a Tory Burch half-zip wool sweatshirt and Japanese jersey sweatpants with the Romy shoulder bag and pierced heeled ankle boot. She then read a quote from Carol Burnett: “My advice for women who’ve been fired: It’s not over. There are other mountains to climb and other things to do to win.”

“It’s amazing that so many people have been fired!” exclaimed Santigold before reading a quote from Oprah that she said was relevant to her firing experience.

Credit: Cody Marquez/BFA.com

Adubo finished things off. “Life is short,” she read. “Whether you leave an unfulfilling job or are dumped right out of it, remember you have regained the most important thing: your independence. Now take some time to sit on that beautiful beach you’d barely noticed, and lean out.”

Guests left with a copy of the book, released Oct. 14 from Simon & Schuster’s Gallery Books.