News feed
For those not chronically online—first of all, congratulations!—the procession of leather, fur coats, leopard print and piles of gold jewellery usurping your algorithms might come as a surprise. With only two weeks into the New Year, the zeitgeist has collectively handed over their coquettish Sandy Liang bows, sleaze-dripped Maison Margiela Tabis and clean girl Moncler puffers for a style originating from every quintessential Italian-American mother’s wardrobe.
Titled the “mob wife aesthetic”, TikTok’s latest niche micro trend has annexed the sartorial staples worn by a specific subsection of New York and New Jersey women come winter. Irrespective of connections to organised crime, the style of a mob wife has been reclaimed as the antithesis to nondescript quiet luxury with its penchant for body-conscious attire, and borderline kitsch head-to-toe animal print.
Within the cultural realm, it would be remiss not to mention the prototypes who injected this silhouette into Gen-Z’s lexicon; The Sopranos’ Carmela Soprano and Adriana La Cerva, Scarface’s Elvira Hancock, The Godfather’s Connie Corleone. Real Housewives Dorinda Medley and Teresa Giudice, even. (Though the latter are in no way affiliated with the mafia, their ensembles are archetypes of the mob wife style.)
Off-screen, Kendall Jenner’s Aspen style, Dua Lipa’s sheer dress and oversized coat combination and Hailey Bieber’s partiality to supersized outerwear are hallmarks of the mob wife wardrobe. The consigliere-core has become the fixation of denizens the world over
But the mob wife is more than just a frivolous aesthetic. Like the titular reality series starring the late Big Ang made apparent, dressing like you’re married to a mafioso comes with its own customs. The mob wife spends her weekends making ‘Sunday Sauce’ and picking up Italian cold cuts in a fur duster (which may or may not have fallen off the back of a truck). She’s ready to backhand anyone who dares question, “So what, no f***** ziti now?” with her squared-off French tips. She didn’t need The Bear’s magnum opus “Fishes” episode to educate her on the significance of the feast of the seven fishes.
With temperatures dropping in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s apparent that people are looking for new ways to administer flair into their winter warmers, and have looked to this set of Italian-American savants to do so. That being said, there is merit to channelling your inner mafia spouse. The vignette is one of self-assurance and assertiveness—and the nearly eight million viewers of the #mobwifeaesthetic on TikTok are in agreeance.
Ahead, GRAZIA has compiled the gangster-adjacent sartorial staples you need in your closet to emulate the trend this season. In the name of the Father, (Carmela Soprano), the Son (Adriana La Cerva), and the Holy Spirit (Elvira Hancock), we shop.
Mob Wife Aesthetic Outfit Inspiration
Mob Wife Aesthetic Wardrobe Staples
