By Ava Gilchrist

Since Clean Girls Are Out And Mob Wives Are In, Shop These Staples To Embrace Your Inner Carmela Soprano

TikTok has us ditching our Moncler puffers for vintage faux fur dusters and helpings of Gabagool.
The mob wife aesthetic has becomPhoto By Getty Images)

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-drippedMaison 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 styleDua 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

The Sopranos, Hbo’s Hit Series About A Modern-Day Mob Boss Caught Between Responsibilities To His Family And His “Family,” Debuts New Episodes On Sunday Nights. Pictured: Series Regulars Michael Imperioli And Drea De Matteo. (Photo By Getty Images)

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
Kendall Jenner. Credit: Instagram/@danixmichelle
Dua-Lipa-Black-Coat
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 28: Dua Lipa is seen in Tribeca on November 28, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Gotham/GC Images)
Hailey Bieber. Credit: Instagram.com/@haileybieber
Sarah Jessica Parker (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
American glamour model and actress Anna Nicole Smith (1967-2007), wearing a fur coat, turns and waves, attends an event, United States, circa 1995. (Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 29: Alexa Chung attends as Gucci & Amy Sacco Celebrate Bungalow Gucci In Honor Of The New Meatpacking Boutique on April 29, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Gucci)
Hailey Bieber. Credit: Instagram.com/@haileybieber
The Sopranos, Hbo1S Hit Series About A Modern-Day Mob Boss Caught Between Responsibilities To His Family And His “Family,” Debuts New Episodes On Sunday Nights. Pictured: Series Regulars James Gandolfini And Edie Falco. (Photo By Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE – JANUARY 16: Stella McCartney arrives at “Laurent” restaurant to celebrate Kate Moss’s 50th birthday on January 16, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pierre Suu/GC Images)
ARLES, FRANCE – MAY 30: A model walks the runway at the Gucci Cruise 2019 show at Alyscamps on May 30, 2018 in Arles, France. (Photo by Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images )
Mob Wife Aesthetic Wardrobe Staples
TOTEME BEIGE VENTED FAUX-FUR COAT, $1944 SHOP NOW
KNWLS BLUE AMR LEATHER JACKET, $912 SHOP NOW
STELLA MCCARTNEY TIGER-PRINT WOOL-BLEND FLARED PANTS, $888 SHOP NOW
COPERNI BLACK DRAPED MINI DRESS, $770 SHOP NOW
AMINA MUADDI GREEN & BLACK ROSIE SLIPPER HEELED SANDALS, $875 SHOP NOW
MUUBAA POPPY LEATHER JACKET, $402 SHOP NOW
BOTTEGA VENETA LARGE DROP EARRINGS, $1750 SHOP NOW
BALENCIAGA TAN LEOPARD LEATHER TRENCH COAT, $14900 SHOP NOW

This story first appeared on GRAZIA International