Let me be honest upfront: I am not easily won over by a TikTok aesthetic or trend. Usually, I loathe them for being consumerist and vacuous. Case and point, just last month I ranted about the ‘Girl pretty/boy pretty’ trend. Having said all that, I am excited about ‘mob wife’.
Less than a month into 2024, ‘mob wife’ is already being dubbed the fashion look of the year. I’ve had no less than 102 PR emails with ‘mob wife’ in the subject line during the last two weeks. Fast-fashion brands have already got their sharp capitalist claws into it. Every magazine is covering the trend (hello, inception!). To date, there are 13k videos using the hashtag on TikTok. All of this would typically make me despair at the death of personal style; at the environmental impact of this ‘cores’ era; at the uniformity of it all. That latter point is what’s different, though.
So, what exactly is ‘mob wife’?
Although new in name, ‘mob wife’ is not a new trend. There it was in Alaïa’s autumn/winter 1991 collection, featuring leopard print on leopard print, and Christian Dior’s couture show of spring/summer 1992 that focused on buttery leathers, oversized accessories and New York excess. More recently, designers like Schiaparelli and Luar tapped into the ‘mob wife’ vibe.
At its core, it’s about maximalism and old-school glamour. Think faux fur coats (second-hand or from your mum’s wardrobe, please), OTT makeup, teased hair, chunky gold jewellery, black leather, mini skirts, heeled boots and leopard print. For inspiration, look to Adriana La Cerva and Carmela Soprano of The Sopranos, Sharon Stone in Casino, Kris Jenner, J.Lo in the ‘00s and Michelle Pfeiffer in Scarface.
The inspiration:
Why ‘mob wife’ is a welcome rejection of the ‘clean girl’
‘Mob wife’ feels like a rejection of the ‘clean girl’, the aesthetic which dominated 2023 and had thousands of young women all dressing in identical SKIMS bodysuits. The uniform was: the infamous COS cross-body bag, a cropped black puffer jacket, all-neutral activewear, drinking green powders in a Stanley cup and slicking their hair back into a sleek bun. My maximalist, scruffy self rejected this with every fibre of my being.
The ‘clean girl’ and its similar counterpart ‘quiet luxury’ sold a lifestyle. This lifestyle is rooted in privilege and – in my humble opinion – misogyny. It’s telling young women to live in the background, to focus on having an aesthetic home and clean living space above everything else, to build their days around going to the gym and cooking. The ‘clean girl’ influencers are, very often, ‘stay at home girlfriends’ and women who can dedicate all their time to looking perfectly put together. This is not realistic for most of us, and more importantly, it shouldn’t be aspirational. Life should be joyful, messy and silly. The ‘mob wife’ embodies this - it tells us to wear the damn leopard print bodysuit, to put huge sunnies on for a trip to the local shop, to embrace the fun of femininity.
If the ‘mob wife’ speaks to you, as it does to me, lean into it consciously. Invest in one piece that you will wear over and over - like a pair of square rimmed glasses or a winter coat you’ll always go back to - rather than shopping for ten bad quality pieces from Shein and alike. Achieve the look with what you already have, live in it, before fully committing.
If you’re like me, ‘mob wife’ might already be how you’ve dressed for years – now it’s just got a zeitgeist name.
