It all started like any other TikTok aesthetic, with someone - in this case a user calling herself “CEO of the Mob Wife”, Sarah Arcuri, also known as The Sweet Paisana - uploading a video to the platform with a perfect phrase to become a hashtag: Goodbye to the “Clean Girl”, hello to the “Mob Wife”, which welcomes the
look
of gangster wives.
The algorithms detected potential and amplified the message: soon hundreds, thousands, millions of short clips began celebrating the death of the quiet luxury that has reigned in fashion in the last year - you know: lots of beige, no logos, straight hair with a middle part, discreet elegance, minimalist accessories and classic garments - and the new life of the movie
look
of the Italian-American woman married to a member of the mafia - huge fur coats, bouffant hair, thick jewelry, all animal prints, red nails, made-up lips.
The references went from being Carolyn Bessette Kennedy in the 90s or Sofia Richie in 2023 to Sharon Stone in
Casino
, Lorraine Bracco in
Goodfellas
, or Edie Falco in
The Sopranos
.
The most refined version might be Michelle Pfeiffer's Elvira Hancock in
Scarface
, with her gorgeous satin garments and her fitted blazers.
Both trends have in common portraying money: the “Clean Girl” chooses to dress in a sober and simple way to emulate wealth, the “Mob Wife” opts for a much louder expression to display her status.
Carmela Soprano, character played by Eddie Falco, in a scene from 'The Sopranos'.
A kind of frequency illusion (that phenomenon called Baader-Meinhof, which makes you see something everywhere after you've talked about it) seems to have been collectively set in motion because the latest appearances of Rihanna in Paris and Taylor Russel in The Loewe show, with those coats, those furs and those jewels echo “Mob Wife”.
Also the outfits of very popular models like Kendall Jenner wearing an impressive brushed sheep coat by Phoebe Philo in Aspen or Hailey Bieber with a version of the “look” in black have traces of “buchonas”.
Singer Dua Lipa tried the trend at the end of the year and left a catalog photo of the perfect mobster's wife leaving the Greenwich Hotel in New York in a lace suit and an oversized faux fur coat.
More references: Jennifer Lawrence arrived at the 2024 Golden Globes after-party in a stunning printed coat with fur trim.
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The interest in #mobwifeaesthetics is a fact: as
Data points out, But Make it Fashion
(an Instagram profile created by a computer engineer named Madé Lapuerta, who analyzes trends in the fashion industry using her own data analysis software) in January 2024 While the “Mob Wife” aesthetic is gaining popularity on average 4% per day, the ‘Clean Girl’ aesthetic is declining by around 16% per day.
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In the latest catwalks, essays have also been made on the attractiveness of this new paradigm of women.
Both Chanel (in its Metiérs d'Art 2024 show) and Saint Laurent (with its spring/summer 2024 collection) presented coats with animal prints and fur linings.
The aesthetic is not new: Azzedine Alaïa's fall/winter 1997 collection glorifies it, as does the one Roberto Cavalli designed in fall/winter 2000. John Galliano's designs in the early 2000s For Dior, they are reminiscent of this type of
bling-bling
that celebrities like Emily Ratajkowski have worn in recent years, and the Courrèges vinyl skirt worn by Sharon Stone in
Casino
was relaunched in 2020.
The final touch of grace has come from Francis Ford Coppola.
The director of
The Godfather
wrote on Instagram that he has heard that the aesthetics of the 'Mob Wife' are back and said that his wife Eleanor was the inspiration for the style of Diane Keaton's character in the film, and that his sister Talia Shire was the muse to create the “sensual and charming Italian princess” Connie Soprano.
In
_
_
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Many see in this new aesthetic a tiredness and a rejection of the previous one: the perfection of wearing beige, leading an extra healthy lifestyle and investing a lot of money in basic clothing has ended up overwhelming, so in contrast they are now looking for a less worked and less perfect appearance, with more street.
The vibe it conveys is one of power and opulence, and there is nothing silent about this new aesthetic: it even announces the return of high-heeled shoes.
The trend, however, has not convinced everyone.
A true former 'Mob Wife' (who cites some connection to mobster Jimmy Hoffa), she describes on TikTok her former life in the mafia environment as dangerous and terrifying.
She also points out a certain cultural appropriation since this aesthetic is inspired by the Italian-American women of New Jersey and New York between the 70s and 90s, and in her opinion, when a woman who does not have these origins dresses like them, it is inappropriate. the most ridiculous.
Then there is the issue of sustainability.
While the 'Clean Girl' opted for quality materials and timeless garments with the aim of wearing them for many years, the mafia wife's aesthetic requires a lot of fake leather, a lot of jewelry and, above all, a lot of fur coats.
The fashion industry has largely abandoned the use of natural animal furs and many synthetic furs are made from polyester and plastic materials that can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade, according to Vogue Business.
However, the aesthetic has already reached fast fashion giant Shein, which sells clothing under the same name.
The counterpart is Depop, the British online second-hand platform, which has seen that the search for faux fur coats has risen 13% in the month of January alone.
Time will tell if it is credible that ordinary women who embraced all expressions of silent luxury in recent years will now start dressing like the wives of a criminal mafia, or if this latest aesthetic will be relegated to digital nostalgia by A life we never lived.