Leopard prints, fur coats, long French manicured nails, big hair. Yup. The “mob wife” aesthetic is officially in, and an expert has explained why. The latest beauty and fashion trend has been featured in many viral videos on TikTok, where the hashtags #mobwife amassed 167.7 million views, and #mobwifeaesthetic received 139.3 million views.
Many women have declared that the “clean girl aesthetic,” characterized by its minimalistic approach and emphasis on natural beauty, was now officially out and that the maximalist style, stereotypically donned by the wives of mobsters, had become the new desirable look.
The “mob wife aesthetic” is officially trending, and an expert has explained why
Image credits: IMDB
The hashtag #mobwife has amassed 167.7 million views on TikTok
@mikaylatoninato I was honestly made for this #mobwife #mobwifeaesthetic #cleangirl #cleangirlaesthetic #mobwifewinter #style #styletips ♬ original sound – mikaylaSome TikTokers have even created tutorials to show how to perfectly embody the new trend, such as fashionista Chrissy, who explained in a video viewed by 6.2 million people how to live your new “mob wife era.”
Chrissy’s approach consisted of dressing in all black and recommended wearing at least one piece of black leather, if possible.
“If you look like you’re going to a funeral, you know you’re doing it right,” the content creator declared.
The viral aesthetic involves massive fur coats, glossy leather, clashing animal prints, coiffed hair, and stacks of gold jewelry
Image credits: trovlov
The TikToker went on to suggest “digging out your mom’s old fur jacket from the 1980s,” as “nothing screams golden era of the mob like a jacket that lived in the golden era of the mob.”
According to the History Channel, the American Mafia rose to power in the Prohibition era of the 1920s and soon flourished. However, by the late 20th century, anti-racketeering laws and other techniques brought down high-ranking mobsters, both in Italy and the United States.
Nevertheless, “the golden era of the mob,” as per one of the ex-Mafia talking heads in Netflix’s Fear City: New York vs The Mafia series, was in the seventies in New York, as per GQ Magazine.
The Sopranos’ 25th anniversary may have influenced the fashion trend, with many women replicating Carmela Soprano’s iconic style
Image credits: IMDB
The growing popularity of the mob wife aesthetic has even ignited the reaction of real mob wife Drita D’avanzo, famous for being a cast member on the VH1 reality series Mob Wives from 2011 to 2016.
Taking to her TikTok page last weekend, the 47-year-old reality star, who is married to Lee D’Avanzo, an alleged crime family leader currently sitting in prison, posted a video highlighting iconic moments from the show.
She wrote in the caption: “This is not just a look, it’s a lifestyle,” before paying tribute to her late co-star Big Ang: “I miss you, my friend!! This one’s for you!!”
Angela Joyce “Big Ang” Raiola was the niece of Salvatore “Sally Dogs” Lombardi, a caporegime and drug dealer in the Genovese crime family.
TikToker Mikayla Nogueira explained how to do your makeup like a mob wife, focusing on smokey eyes
Image credits: mikaylanogueira
Big Ang was famous for her flamboyant style and voluptuous figure. She eventually passed away from lung cancer at the age of 55 in 2016.
As we understand it, the viral mob wife aesthetic involves massive fur coats, glossy leather, clashing animal prints, coiffed hair, and stacks of gold jewelry.
Its popularity can be linked to the cult TV series The Sopranos, which first aired in January 1999. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, HBO launched an official Sopranos TikTok account featuring condensed 25-second recaps of all 86 episodes, The Guardian reported.
The Sopranos’ Adriana La Cerva (Drea de Matteo) has also been used as a fashion inspiration
Image credits: IMDB
@thesweetpaisana It’s our time to SHIIIINEEEEEEE #mobwives #mobwife #mobwifeaesthetic #mobwivesoftiktok #fauxfur #carmelasoprano #2024fashion #fyp ♬ Good Times – ChicNaturally, The Sopranos’ Carmela Soprano (Edie Falco) and Adriana La Cerva (Drea de Matteo) have become somewhat of the blueprints inspiring thousands of content creators adopting the extravagant newly-popularized style.
According to Lorrie Ivas, an associate professor at Santa Monica College’s Fashion Faculty, the revival of the mob wife look isn’t so surprising.
She told Bored Panda in an email: “The only thing one can predict about fashion trends is that they will cycle back… either by generation or a bit sooner – according to what streaming schedule is in the works.”
“The only thing one can predict about fashion trends is that they will cycle back,” a fashion expert told Bored Panda
Image credits: thesweetpaisana
The fashion expert further explained: “The ‘Mob Wife’ look has cycled back due to several instigators… the re-streaming of ‘The Sopranos’ 1999-2007 as well as the more traditional ‘rule’ of trend directions recurring from a prior generation … so the beginning of the 2000s to 2024 fits a generation rule: the 20 to 25ish year span.”
Lorrie pointed to other movies that have been restreamed lately, including the 2013 crime-comedy drama American Hustle, with viewers who might’ve never seen the original but were now immersed in Jennifer Lawrence’s Rosalyn Rosenfeld’s looks.
“TV and movies have such a powerful influence on fashion… so really costume designers who visualize the screenwriter’s storytelling end up really creating the initial inspo,” the professor said.
Mob Wives’ Drita D’avanzo has reacted to the trend on TikTok
Image credits: dritadavanzoladyboss
@dritaladyboss This is not just a look its a lifestyle 🤌😉 I miss you my friend!! This ones for you!! 💖🕊️💖🕊️#mobwives #trending #fashion #trends #mob #wife #makeup #dynamic #duo #throwback ♬ original sound – Drita DavanzoShe continued: “Michelle Pfeiffer’s ‘Married to the Mob’ (1988) came before the Sopranos… and the title inspired RHONY (Real Housewives of New York)’s Leah McSweeney to start her own streetwear brand, ’Married to the Mob.’”
Lorrie also highlighted the new craze for shopping at vintage and thrift stores for sustainability, prompting the discovery of “very low-priced real furs of bygone eras,” which ultimately enables the mob wife aesthetic.
The fashion expert concluded: “Even seeing the final shot of Sarah Jessica Parker walking north on 5th Avenue at the close of HBO’s SATC (Sex and the City) in 2004 (by Patricia Field) shows the long fur coat revisited for the last time (with movies to follow).”
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