Counsel possibly ignoring wife’s thickness (5)
I believe the answer is:
layer
'thickness' is the definition.
(I have seen 'Single thickness' mean 'layer' so perhaps 'thickness' could also mean 'layer')
'counsel possibly ignoring wife's' is the wordplay.
'counsel possibly' becomes 'lawyer' (counsel is a kind of lawyer).
'ignoring' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'wife' becomes 'w' (abbreviation).
'lawyer' with 'w' removed is 'LAYER'.
(Other definitions for layer that I've seen before include "See 22" , "Bed - hen" , "Tier or thickness - or a hen?" , "Film" , "Single thickness, tier" .)