Widely discussed, doubted, and interpreted—what started as another micro-trend on TikTok has made its way onto the runway at the F/W 24 Fashion Week.
The ‘mob wife‘ aesthetic, a trend coined by TikTok users, revisits new-money, mafia-esque looks, as seen on female counterparts of gangsters in mob movies and series like Godfather, The Sopranos, Goodfellas or, more recently, Griselda.
It started as another micro-trend on TikTok, a phenomenon that happens about every week, where users, as a New York Times article states so accurately, “identify a long-established style […] and give it a catchy new label.” So, naturally, the first reaction of fashion critics was skeptical and reluctant, doubting if this trend was even going to stay. Some suspect a marketing stunt by HBO (for the 25th anniversary of The Sopranos) behind the rise of this ‘aesthetic’, others claim the trend itself as too broad, its characteristics not specific enough for it to actually catch on and reach a broader audience outside the TikTok bubble.
Looking at some of our favorite mafia brides, including Carmela Soprano in The Sopranos (played by Edie Falco), Elvira Hancock in Scarface (played by Michelle Pfeifer), Connie Corleone in Godfather (played by Talia Shire) and Mirtha Jung in Blow (played by Penelope Cruz) there are definitely more attributes to it than a fur coat, leo-print and golden statement rings. It is first of all a certain attitude, an unapproachability and mystery that these women carry—they are strong and unattainable.
The look that seems to be the answer to a quiet luxury clean girl aesthetic: the slightly overdone, glamorous, loud and luxurious, shiny, sometimes slightly campy style including long nails, (preferably French or red), statement jewelry, and designer bags, 80’s hair-updos and blow-outs and sultry make-up.
After watching the trend unfold online, luxury brands took the chance to present what seems to be their take on it, as seen on the Fall/Winter 2024 runway at McQueen, Alaïa, D&G, and Co.
Considering the uprise of the fur trend (fur is this season’s #2 trend according to Tagwalk), it is safe to say that this time, a TikTok trend actually caught on in the real fashion world and got legitimized by the big fashion players this season.
Is it the socio-cultural meaning or just fascination for the kind of mystery and the forbidden look?
Marketing stunt or not, the fascination for the evil, the mysterious and the dark has always been a source of inspiration for many—just as much as we are fascinated by true crime content.
(I also remember a little me telling my parents that when I grew up I wanted to be a mafia bride.)
Twenty years later, it seems like this fascination has made a big return in the fashion and social media sphere. Undoubtedly, there’s s a certain inexplicable coolness to these outlaws (and their partners), but does this trend have a deeper, socio-cultural meaning too?
Does it mean that girls are today seeking to be some gangster’s (stay-at-home) wife or is this fascination-slash-trend purely based on the visual elements of the mob wife?
Looking at the term ‘Mob Wife’ itself, I wonder what significance the wife in it has.
As we can see with the problematic trend of the Tradwife and stay-at-home girlfriend, there’s a rise of conservative gender and relationship roles in some corners of the internet, where it seems like the 1950s are making a return. Around the world, conservative (and far-right) parties are gaining power. So, is it a coincidence that at the same time, the glamorized lives of wealthy stay-at-home wives in gangster movies are celebrated?
Partially, I think there is a correlation between these two trends, both glamourising a life in patriarchal structures, a life of a passive, by-standing woman whose first concern is her appearance and how to serve her man right.
Often, these characters are serving a cliché of a rich man’s arm candy; a woman who stays at home to take care of the house, the kids, and her beauty, spends her days at the nail salon, hairdresser and shopping mall, starts drinking before noon or numbs herself with pain meds, dressed in an all-glam tacky chic, nouveau-riche attire and driving a Cadillac through her small-town streets. Looking at these characters, we need to bear in mind that these films are (mostly) written, produced and directed by men. The main characters are men and they are the focus of the plot. Also, most of these stories are set in a time with conservative gender roles and patriarchal mob hierarchies. The women played secondary, supporting roles.
This new fascination is now shifting the focus onto the female counterparts, giving them a new appreciation and allowing us to look at these characters differently. Although it might not be at first glance, the mob wife definitely has more power and significance than you would think.
At the interface of being a stay-at-home wife and a part-time gangster, she is often more involved in her husband’s business than what is made obvious and also needs to deal with other dubious men in their circle, and therefore just as smart, fierce, and criminal as her partner.
The way she dresses is reflective of that and can also be seen as a form of empowerment: Strong shoulder pads, leather, sunglasses—some of the mob wife looks do not meet the conventional female beauty standards of their time, where women are still thought to be fragile and submissive, dressed in A-line skirts, pastels and aprons. This powerful and badass energy of this look as a kind of rebellion is what mob wife fans today are celebrating. The looks are taken out of context and put in a new one by everyone who’s trying it on today.
One might add that now that the time for a new storytelling has come, a story that focuses on a woman and shows us some female gangsters, and well: it’s here. The recent release of the new Netflix series Griselda, starring Sofía Vergara, is based on the true story of Griselda Blanco (also known as the Godmother or Black Widow), one of the biggest and most brutal drug bosses in America who rose to power in the 1970s and 1980s and built one of the most ruthless drug cartels in history. Without glossing over any of the brutal crimes she committed, I think it’s remarkable to finally have an adaptation of her story, after all other (male) cartel boss stories have been told, produced, and streamed. This series is serving the looks all mob wife fans have been waiting for, showing us this trend is less about the wife and more about the mob.
If you haven’t seen the series, check for yourself the wild looks of Miami in the 80’s.
As is usually the case when something becomes trendy on TikTok, its origin, context, and meaning are flattened by its rapid spread and interpretations of it. But unlike most other trends there, this one has actually spilled over into the real world. Regardless of its socio-cultural ambivalence—it’s refreshing to see some new, bold looks. Aesthetically, we are coming out of a long, bland phase of clean-girl minimalism and sad beiges, so the rhythm of the fashion industry is carrying us to the other extreme.
Didn’t we all miss the ’80s fashion a little?
