In January of 2022, on TikTok, where trends these days are created and then put to rest, fashion and lifestyle TikToker Kayla Trivieri declared, “Clean girl is out, mob wife is in.” If you’re not already hip, the “clean girl” aesthetic champions barely-there makeup, slicked-back (and usually pin-straight) hair, the daintiest of silver jewelry, and a buffed nude manicure.

For the “mob wife” aesthetic, the checklist is as follows: sky-high hair, stacked stilettos, chunky gold hoops, bangles and rings, floor-grazing fur coats, second-skin clothing, and an atmospheric fragrance noisier than the clacking of one’s acrylic French tip fingernails. Depicted in The Sopranos, the reality television series Mob Wives, and the movie Goodfellas, among others, this way of dressing is undoubtedly loud and proud, though not necessarily tied to the shady dealings its name suggests.

Those with sociocultural proximity to this style have a complex relationship to it. “The mob is a dark reality of [Italian history],” remarks Rachel Cuccia, Sicilian American photographer and founder of her own namesake line of lingerie. “Most Italians like any form of attention towards our culture, but many also feel offended when it is associated with the mob. But, it does make me think, are people celebrating [our culture], or exploiting it?”

Hailing from Long Island, Cuccia is no stranger to this stylistic expression. “My Grandma Marion embodied the mob wife aesthetic. With hair and nails always freshly done, she always wore gold, huge furs, and refused to drive any- thing but a Cadillac. I grew up in a house of really dramatic Italian women involved in the arts. We’re all so overly expressive. It’s what I know.” The mob wife aesthetic is an amalgamation of elements worthy of deeper study: pride in one’s culture in a foreign land, economic aspirations, and mobility, as well as feminine expression and sexuality in a Man’s World.

“Growing up, we had nude sculptures in the house. The female body in Italian art is [something] I grew up seeing. I think the mob wife [wants to show] her physique…that’s somebody having fun in their skin. I’m attracted to that essence of [the trend],” says Cuccia over the phone, in a gentle and identifiably Long Island accent.

The trend veers away from more youthful fashion movements like the “coquette” or “baby girl” trope, wherein bows accent mini skirts, penny loafers, and pigtails. Cuccia sees dressing like a mob wife as a form of protection. “The mob wife, in essence, is a lion tamer. I think looking unapproachable or tough is a good energy. Arousal and fear are intertwined,” says Cuccia. For Ida Giancola, an Italian American TikTok creator by the username @dionysian.girl, the trend’s use of jewelry is more than decoration – it is familial commemoration.

“I wear my Mother Mary pendant that I’ve had since I was born. I’m 31 and I still wear it every day. I know when I wear it, that it came from the village my family is from. I feel very connected to my family who are no longer living, in a place we no longer live, when I wear it.”

Giancola offers passionate takes on personal styling, made ever more expressive with chatty hands that boast unchangeable red nails, (specifically Ferrari Red by DND Gel). With regards to the naming of the trend, “It’s a bit of a LARP. A lot of these [trends] that pop up on TikTok…they’re search terms to plug into Pinterest so that you can easily adopt and copy. It’s a little catchy name, I guess,” states Giancola. It is also a leap away from the “stealth is wealth” trend and its quest for esotericism.

The maximalist nature of the mob wife trend can have transformative effects on its wearer. Cuccia notes, “I’m a Leo, so I’m naturally drawn to anything bold, showboat-y—a lot more fun.” Giancola, an Aquarius, notes that the way she dresses “is a conversation starter. When flashy is done in the right way, it can be really magical.” It’s worth noting that countless other cultures’ styles can feature similarly outsized aesthetics. Some Jamaican Americans in Flatbush, Brooklyn might don gold bamboo earrings proudly.

You might see Cuban Americans working Jesus pendant pieces into just about any outfit. And in Eastern European immigrant culture—new and established—mink coats appear in many wardrobes. When taking cues from a trend cycle moving at the speed of light, experimentation is important, but for best results, authenticity is key. The way you dress “will come back into style 3 times in a year.” Giancola notes. “At this point, we can- not make declarative statements like ‘this is in and ‘this is out.’ Everything is in, all the time.”

If a trend resonates with you and your stylistic “heritage,” then follow it into the sunset, chewing gum and pinching your fingers together while you tell someone to watch who they’re talkin’ to, ideally with a tri-state twang.

This story appears in the pages of V150: now available for purchase!

Photography Blair Getz Mezibov

Fashion Gro Curtis

Makeup Kiki Gifford (Streeters)

Hair Teddy Charles (Nevermind Agency)

Models Abby Champion, Cara Taylor (Ford)

Casting Goran Macura

Executive producer Anastasia Suchkov (Noted Collective)

Production manager Lauren Beck (Noted Collective)

Digital technician Jamie O’Brien

Lighting director Corey Danieli

Makeup assistant Nana Hiramatsu

Hair assistants Hannan Siddique, Natan Unce

Production assistant Ohene Okera (Noted Collective)