Due to position, previous lover gone and nice Dior clothing disappeared (2,7)
I believe the answer is:
ex officio
'due' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adverbs. Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?
'position previous lover gone and nice dior clothing disappeared' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'previous' could be 'ex' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'ex' is located in the answer.
'gone' could be 'off' (I've seen this before) and 'off' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).
'to' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ex officio that I've seen before include "By virtue of one's status" , "By right of office" , "By virtue of one's official position, Latin phrase" .)