The mob wife aesthetic is here to revamp your winter wardrobe
The TikTokers are at it again...
What was Gen Z watching over the Christmas break? If TikTok is anything to go by, a lot of Scorsese movies. We’re only three weeks into 2024 and already a new TikTok fashion trend has emerged: the mob wife aesthetic (313 million views and counting). The online creators that brought you Clean Girl, Cottagecore and Tomato Girl Summer are now donning fake furs, lashings of gold jewellery and giant sunglasses as they do their best Karen Hill impersonation.
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It has caused such a stir that even Francis Ford Coppola felt compelled to weigh in this week. Posting on Instagram, he wrote “I hear the ‘mob wife aesthetic’ is making a comeback…” before giving some juicy insider details about the wardrobes of the women in The Godfather series. The style of Diane Keaton’s Kay Adams was apparently inspired by his own wife Eleanor, while Talia Shire’s Connie Corleone was based on a “sultry, delightful Italian princess”.
Obviously it’s quite ridiculous to suggest completely transforming your style every four months because of an algorithm (and you will risk the ire of women who have always dressed this way) but the mob wife aesthetic certainly is an easy trend to get on board with and one that lends itself well to the chilly January climate (faux fur galore). The other good news is that you will likely already have most of the necessary components, the other signature notes of the look being lots of black, animal prints, dark sunglasses (the bigger, the better), and gold jewellery. It’s all stuff that rarely goes out of style. Celebrities that have been leaning into this aesthetic recently include Dua Lipa, Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber.
If you’re sick of 2023’s Clean Girl beauty look, with its focus on ‘no make-up’ make-up, glass skin, and a neat bun, then you’re in for a treat. Mob wife beauty is all about dark lips, smoky eyes, a blow-out ‘do, and scarlet nails (or a Carmela Soprano-esque French tip).
Some creators are getting their inspiration from The Sopranos’ Adriana La Cerva, with her penchant for gaudy animal prints and tight-tight clothing, while others are going for an altogether more glamorous Italian widow vibe more in keeping with Connie Corleone. There are references to Casino’s Ginger McKenna, Scarface’s Elvira Hancock and American Hustle’s Rosalyn Rosenfeld. What they all agree on is that minimalism is out, extravagance is in.
Perhaps more interesting than the mob wife aesthetic itself are these niche micro trends that crop up on TikTok every few months, seemingly plucked out of nowhere. While content creators rely on launching and utilising these new trends, they are often unconnected to the wider fashion world, which is perhaps why the fashion industry can be quite sneery of them. You could argue that Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana had shades of mob wife in their spring/summer 2024 collections (doesn’t D&G always?) but I really don’t think it’s that deep (there is also an online conspiracy theory that HBO has orchestrated the renaissance of the mob wife for The Sopranos’ 25th anniversary this year but, again, the internet is overthinking it).
And while these TikTok aesthetics would never influence my own style (I’m waaay too old for that) I still always enjoy them when they come along, as long as they’re respectful and encourage people to shop responsibly. It’s precisely that they have so little to do with the fashion industry that makes them so compelling. I’m still recovering from 2022’s ‘Coastal Grandmother’ trend in which, out of nowhere, twenty-somethings all wanted to look like they were in a Nancy Meyers movie. It’s all slightly barmy and I love it.
While TikTokers furiously Google Image the celluloid stars of the gangster canon, what of the real-life mob wives? I’m lucky enough to have an in-house expert on the mafia. My husband Tom Folsom has written a bestselling book about the infamous mobster ‘Crazy Joe’ Gallo and he even went into witness protection to help the organised crime boss Nicky Barnes aka “Mr Untouchable” write his memoir.
When I brought up the TikTok aesthetic with him (truly a conversation I never thought we’d have) he was quick to point out that most real-life mob wives are under strict instructions to not flaunt their wealth so as not to arouse the suspicion of the authorities. There are some exceptions. Back in the day, Judith Exner, the mistress of mob boss Sam Giancana, was known for her impeccable style (she also allegedly had an affair with JFK). And there are some pictures of Nicky Barnes’ wife Thelma Grant which suggest she ignored any advice to fly under the radar (indeed Barnes’ own undoing came after he appeared on the cover of New York Times Magazine in a sharp suit and Gucci shades which angered President Jimmy Carter so much that he made it his mission to bring him down. Being too flashy in this world rarely works out well.)
“Back in the ‘60s and ‘70s the top mob bosses didn’t want any attention whatsoever and so the wives were instructed to be as invisible as possible,” says Tom. “Nowadays, the real-life mob wives at this point are probably actually copying The Sopranos. But still, any mobster and his wife knows it’s smart to be discreet about your wealth unless you want the feds on you.”
The mob wife aesthetic has been hailed as the antithesis of last year’s biggest fashion trend, quiet luxury, but if you really were a mob wife you would actually want your luxury to be very quiet indeed.
And just for fun to end on... Here’s me having my own mob wife moment last year at The Groucho Club in London. Faux fur coat? Check. Junior Soprano on my arm? Check. The ever so delightful Dominic Chianese was kind enough to entertain me and my friends stanning over him and even gave me a photo. A true don.
Really enjoyed this. Especially the notes from your husband!
This was delicious!! I’m also curious about other references for this like in the show Narcos? Not sure if you watched it but there’s this scene where Escobar is getting shunned for not wearing a tie by protocol figures and it’s fascinating characterisation.