Mob Wife Aesthetic: The Dark Stories Behind The Viral Trend
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- Опубликовано: 20 июн 2024
- The “mob wife aesthetic” has been blowing up across TikTok and other social media in recent weeks - it piqued our interest because we’ve definitely loved analyzing mob wives and girlfriends on screen, like Carmela Soprano, Adriana La Cerva, Ginger McKenna, and more. But because we’re familiar with these characters, we also know that these mob wives usually don’t have very happy stories... So why have they sparked this powerful trend? Let’s take a deeper look at the three major aspects that make these characters and their outfits so alluring and impactful, and also why (while we might want to copy their looks) we probably don’t want to emulate their lives too closely.
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:51 Protecting yourself, & projecting your best self, with fashion
02:28 Euphoria's Maddy's modern version of the mob wife aesthetic
04:21 When gifts hide something sinister...
07:33 Why people looked down on the 'mob wife aesthetic' before
09:00 Why it's become such a big viral trend recently
The Take was created by Debra Minoff & Susannah McCullough
This video was produced, written & edited by Jessica 
Кино
Next up, check out some of our videos diving deeper into the stories of these on screen mob wives and girlfriends, like The Soprano's Adriana La Cerva ( ruclips.net/video/Lwq8a17LqDc/видео.html ) and Carmela Soprano ( ruclips.net/video/joufEDt_CRM/видео.html )
This going to be on Spotify?
Last year influencers celebrated generational wealth, elitism and nepotism (all the "old money", "wealth whispers" and "quiet luxury" crap). This year it's spending blood money and having no independence (like Carmela or Adriana). One's really got to wonder what's next.
i'm still on the dark academia vibe.
@@InTecknicolour I don't subscribe to any and I'm fine with however people want to dress. It's just that these two trends I mentioned glorify and romanticize things that really shouldn't be neither glorified nor romanticized.
good point, i'd see thousands of post a year about " how rich people actually dress" and " money talks wealth whispers" with lots of pictures of people and influencers who didn't even live this lifestyle, just wore the aestethic. To me it seemed very.... elitist ( obviously, with the obsession with having " real " money ) but also kinda racist..? because to have old money in this aestethic was basically synonymous with whiteness and the white east coast of the past which would be put in contrast in a lot of videos with poc creators wearing streewear. They would say like " how did we go from this to this?" giving a lot of " i was born in the wrong generation vibes", showing pictures of people of color in streetwear as bad and thousands of photos of only white people in this old money aesethic as the good. Maybe i had a different experience than others but i never saw an old money post with a person of color. I've seen less of these ideals in mob wife posts, but even if there's less of a romanticization of this white ideal life there still is a constant obsession with money and power over others at the end of the day
Mob Wife is a hop away from Trad Wife
@@gabrielleporter553 there's nothing racist about saying people going out in tracksuits and literal pajamas have bad taste.... Elegant black people would also never do this, it's just the ghetto people and ghetto knows no race....
Not being funny but I seriously worry about those who need a viral trend and aesthetic to tell them how to dress. They are either chronically online or have no sense of individuality or both.
Exactly!
It’s just fun. Not that deep.
The take is annoying as fuck. Half these women fucked themselves over. Ginger could've left Sam clean without drama and been alright. She was the only girl mentioned in the video who was powerful without Sam and with him. She ran allover sam taking advantage of his kindness. The others didn't have that type of power over their men. Carmella was not doing shit in sopranos she never tried to make a business for herself or find a hobby. Karen in good fellas is from an older period where freedom and independence wasn't a thing. 50s to 80s women stayed behind their men. She's the only one who was fucked by the life. Elvira from scarface had a similar situation like Ginger, but she was rude to Tony from beginning to end. All she had to do was stop drinking & doing drugs for a year or two to give him a baby. That's different. The take talking about dress like them but don't get in the life rotfl. So many regular women are getting the shit beaten out of them on a daily basis and they don't live this life. So what the fuck is the take talking about
This is exactly what was going through my mind the entire video. How about just dress a certain way because the clothes look good on you?
Sometimes a trend is useful, especially if you have some fashion ideas but want some advice about how to make a cohesive look out of them, how to find the pieces you want, etc. That said, an "aesthetic" is not only a look much of the time. People can also modify their hobbies, communication style, etc. to fit the aesthetic--basically making it their whole personality. So I quite understand your concerns!
The rise of sugar daddies and the mob wife aesthetic at the same time feels like not a coincidence.
I heard sugar daddies like for women to dress like that
It's really interesting how trends have moved at a drastic speed after social media. One day it's old money, next is loud luxury. Round lips, cupid's bow. Curvy, then skinny. It's impossible to catch up, it's like an accordion filled with micro trends.
Mob wife aesthetic is weirdest shit I've ever heard
For real. I don't get the appeal :/
It's like the worst spin off of the "villain era"
Born and Raised in Northern New Jersey, the whole "Mob Wife" trend seemed to really come out of the Italian and Jewish American Women within a certain tax bracket and was not necessarily attached to Organized crime. Displaying wealth in your everyday wear is as American as apple pie, and every American culture has its variation of this aesthetic. In Jersey (Old Jersey, anyway), Italians, Jewish, Hispanics, and American Descendants of Enslaved Africans would influence one another fashionably but always had their own flair...I liked seeing that....
It’s interesting that in Mexico there has already been a fascination for this kind of aesthetic since the rise of organized crime, dr*g cartels, etc. I wonder if that’s a sign of people losing sensibility towards violence in the means of wealth, considering inequality is rising in most countries. Btw, the mexican version of mob wife is called buchona.
Yes buchonas snd looked how of this ladies end
Adriana is my favorite on the Sopranos. I see so many of the people following the mob wife aesthetic copying her looks, and it makes me wonder: have they seen how she is treated on the show? She is the victim of domestic violence and is constantly undermined by the ones she loves.
I remember in one episode she tells Tony that she’s afraid of people (the root of her IBS, I think). No wonder. All of these women are afraid. Emulating their “look” would be nauseating.
@@turkeyseaweed not to mention how much the internet and media emphasize certain images, which leads to eating disorders and other related issues, such as bad digestion!
@@jessedarlin indeed!
@@turkeyseaweed most of the mob wives were sociopaths, actually. Carmella was.
@@SuperStella1111Carmela most definitely is a weird one.
5:08 Speaking of fur coats, I was reminded of ‘Sister Act’ when Deloris said: “I haven’t earned it. You don’t earn other people’s wife’s fur coats.”
She told no lies 🤷🏾♀️
earn with...?
The whole “they’ll pick their own feelings every time” really sounds like a lot of dudes anyway even not mobsters.
A lot of Ginger's outfits and hair styles were actually inspired by Sharon Tate's character in The Valley of the Dolls
Don't be a mob wife, be Griselda
Hehe best comment, loved it ❤❤❤
Really let’s love loud luxury to its fullest back again just don’t call mob wife’s but lady mob boss hehe that’s much more cool and empowering.
She's an unhinged murderer and drug trafficker but ok
Agreed 👍
As a flat girl with a bob, I always thought Elvira (from Scarface 83) had the best mob-wife look: her style was more clean and refined even within the Eighties Excess.
But the breakup scene in the restaurant definitely underlines the gilded-cage isolation and misery she feels: "I have Nick the Pig as a friend. What kind of life is that?"
surprised no married to the Mob clips were used. Michelle P's mob looks in that were fun as well.
The only way to be a happy mob wife is if it's a business arrangement.
He does what he wants and wife is the buffer for that in a lot of cases.
JUST LIKE REGULAR MARRIAGE
@@vashtikelly6837 uh. Not really? So every partner has fluid fidelity to the relationship and criminal connections as a rule?
@@a.munroe I'm saying what these women take off these men are no different than a regular wife who lets her husband cheat on her and she stays and she knows that he deals drugs and hurts people, but because she his wife and the money is coming in, she accepts the lifestyle and goes down with her husband sometimes.
@@vashtikelly6837 and that's not a normal relationship and it isn't healthy that you believe it's a regular marriage.
Marriage is a contract but abuse isn't usually a part of it. Nor should it be.
@@a.munroe WELL FIRST OF ALL YOU DIDN'T READ MY REPLY....
I SAID THE MOB WIFE IS NO DIFFERENT THEN A REG WIFE....
SNOOP DOG WIFE BEEN WITH HIM WHEN HE WAS A DRUG DEALER AND STILL THERE, CARDI B, KOBE BRYANT, BEYONCE.....ALL THESE WOMEN LET THIER HUBBY CHEAT WHILE THEY STAY WITH THEM AND IF THOSE SAME MEN WERE DEALING DRUGS, THOSE SAME WIVES WOULD STAY RIGHT THERE AND WOULD BE PROUD OF IT.......JUST LIKE THE MOB WIFE!!!
This channel is like a master class in everyday art in which we call life.
I figure it'll swing back to something minimalist again in the next few years.
I very much see the appeal of getting to try on the look without actually having to be involved in that sort of thing - I walked in a fashion event a few years ago where they had me in a purple jumpsuit and a faux leopard coat, and it was completely outside of what I usually wear, but for an afternoon, it was pretty cool!
Idk people romanticise gangsters and that life a lot.
I feel like it's along the lines of, "they can do whatever they want." That's why I think it gets romanticized a lot.
@@CrimsonNineTail Do they get to do whatever they want, though? Yes, there’s power and authority but it’s on shifting sands.
2:34 that explains why I love Maddie so much 😂 casino is one of my favorite movies
I think you’re right that with how the economy has been- people are looking for security in an imperfect world 🤷🏻♀️
I found a faux-fur mob wife coat at a thrift store in central PA. I wish I knew where it was these days.
Also "American" people fetichize this aestetic but they don't know the atrocity that is living in a country full of organized crime I invite them to my country Ecuador wich is currently at war with organized crime terrorist groups, and have a view of what mobs do in real life not movies...
Exactly, to the families of the dead, it's not entertainment. Not to mention, who decides to look tacky on purpose?
A Mob Wife is just a New York/Jersey hop away from a Basketball Wife
Remember awhile back that trending TikTok of thst black young woman who was going to prison for a bit who'd tried the "mob wife life"? Yeah... she said it wasn't fun, she was abused and lost too much for it to be worth it and she'd known it from the start. The mob wife aesthetic is like the junkie aesthetic; you'd have to be an absolute fool to engage in it.
This was very well made.
Thank You.
9:30 I just realised after seeing the Maddy part is that compared to her...Cassie kind of became a deadlier mob wife after getting together with Nate in which much like the "mob boss", Cassie is willing to get her hands dirty and seems to be capable of committting a crime so that she can protect Nate and cover up his crimes and even use his skills and weaknesses to her advantage just so she can complete her own revenge plan on Maddy and others. One thing for sure not only was Cassie drawn to Nate giving her attention but also how the darker and sadistic human nature can give her advantages
So basically it's for poeple with bad taste who don't want to feel bad about it.
I work with 2 younger ladies who love this look. They have ingrained mysogny and admit to loving bad guys. As somebody who dealt with domestic violence it is sad. They are a product of social media and lack of agency and true identity. They are amazing women it's fascinating to view it through the lens of being older. I'm grateful I grew up before social media.
I thought it was just a stealth campaign to bring attention The Sopranos 25th Anniversary lol. I do love the maxialism tho. Edit: oh hey, they said it.
I haven't watched Euphoria and I get that Sam Levinson is much older than his character and is a cinephile...but how weird he gave this high-schooler an obsession with M.Scorsese's Casino. Like Sharon Stone's character was SO SAD AND TRAGIC. No girl would want to emulate THAT!
An insecure girl with who knows what kind of background relating with a sad and tragic character? Do you not know how natural that is?
What's also feasible is a teenager seeing such a character and only seeing the strength she exudes through her fashion, totally missing the nuance.
Anyone saying "its not that deep" yes it is that deep
There's a new aesthetic popping up every week. This video is the first I've heard of this one.
"enjoy the look and have a little fun"
Come on, let's go to the Easy Rest
this is one of the most repetitive scripts I've ever heard on the Take. It feels almost that it was written by AI
Funny how the first thing ai learned is how to pad a text with repetitive phrases, no? It's because lazy writing has a higher word count and therefore more data. And the AI learn from sampling millions of texts. And now they start "learning" from each other making it even worse.
Please explain how it is repetitive and written by AI. Or are you just saying this to be b*tchy.
I don't see how mob fashion was considered "gawdy" or "tacky." These guys are often in the high end of fashion, due to the money.
Probably all the big, loud, often unnecessary layers they’d wear. Like if they don’t travel wearing thier whole closet, then the stuff will disappear, stuff like that
It’s a lower middle class look. Loud. Low class has nothing to do with money. It’s an attitude. They dress the way they think rich people do. Rich people wear sweaters with moth holes. Old raglans. Etc…
It's a Class and Ethnic Divide Issue. Most of the mobsters were not Old Money WASPS.
@@jessicavictoriacarrillo7254 As a WASP, agreed. But most WASPs are not rich either. After WW2, the royals in Britain dressed like their subjects. No more tiaras unless it was a ceremony. A countersignal.
And oftentimes high-end fashion can be incredibly ostentatious.
Casino was the best at everything. Sharon Stone and Robert DeNiro were fire!!!
Live for meaning and purpose. We're not here to serve materialism. This will never scratch the itch.
I would love to see you guys talk about the "princess treatment" trend
This going to be on Spotify?
Trophy wife
Let's have a video on the style of James Bond through the decades.
I'm still confused about the scene in Goodfellas where young Henry comes home in a suit and his mom immediately says "omg u look like a gangster!". Suits and the mafia were always connected (no pun intended ) but that's just 1 career out of HUNDREDS+ (CEO, Wall Street, Dr's, lawyers, celebrities, feds, rabbis etc etc) all commonly wear suits so what makes the suit of a gangster that noticeably different from any other.. is it a specific style that MOSTLY mobsters wear? I get that they're theoretically more expensive, yet possibly fake, is it about the era? Like classic pinstripes or modern Versaci? (Not shoes, or hats, or jewelry, but the suits..what am I missing?)
Fashionable, rather gaudy extravagant suits, or if not the suits then the accessories. Not boring classic well fitted suits but ones that are kinda loud. Just look at DeNiro's wardrobe for casino. He doesn't go for boring black or gray without a pop of color or interesting detail. The mafia in Chicago was also known for pinstripe suits. Italian tailoring.
@@redfullmoon meanwhile his character as Jimmy in the same time period dressed in very basic suits. Still, I'd argue that anyone with $ and confidence wears the same high quality threads. John Gotti wasn't the only fan of silk suits and hand painted ties. I'd even argue that Jordan Peterson's new suits are louder than Casino.. he even listed places where he buys his 3 piece suits from ($$$) but these new ones make him look like a sophisticated Joker.
But my point or question remains..wearing all types of luxury suits (and accessories) is not limited to rich gangsters. Although it's probably more accessible to gangsters, just like other places they extort.
I think the mom told him that because she knew he was associating with gangsters, she connected the look with the men he was hanging out with.
@@a.o.5695 fair enough.
Well I dislike "clean girl" and "quiet luxury" or wahtever because the truth is those styles only good on a small number of people. Most people look like they're trying too hard, which is kind of ironic. Also ironic, more people can pull of more personalized and bold looks because it has so many different possibilities and can also suit lots of body types.
I'm sorry but the wolf of wallstreet should've been included
Just finished the sopranos last week for the third time so def perf timing
How would you say that the mob wife aesthetic relates to women of color? I wonder if it seems more open to WOC's than the Old Money aesthetic in some ways. But on the other hand it might seem to reinforce cliches about WOC's being the wives, girlfriends, or mistresses of criminals? And also louder and gaudier than white women?
Excellent points.
These people who aspire to this need to actually do research. I read Good fellas, saw it and have read about the lifestyle. The huge glasses were usually to hide bruises and tears ffs. The men beat on the wives. It's a tad odd that women wanna inspire to that?
IKR!
Interesting take - I'm not fully up to date on viral fashion trends (although I've heard about this "mob wife aesthetic"), but there is increasing debate online about gender roles, traditional "provider" and "protector" roles for men, debates around modern masculinity and such.
The embracing of an archetype which is associated with being spoilt, being celebrated as a "prize" or "trophy", and while still maintaining power and ferocity seems to be corresponding to this. Not factoring in the "tragic end" - but the prime of it, I wonder if this creates somewhat of a fantasy. (eg. - for men, the sequence of Henry going through the kitchen entrance with his date while getting a special table set for him, getting free bottles from other powerful mobsters as gifts, etc. would be the male fantasy).
"Christopher!"
I think a lot of points were missed here. The mob wife aesthetic was also intended to signify to others in the lifestyle who they were and not to mess with them or their kids. It was meant to be an extension of their husband's powers into domestic realms where women and kids would be.
It's such a joke! I am a black women who grew up in South Philly around Italians. My Mother, Grandmothers and Aunts all dressed like this.
Depending on the age you are, Mary J Blige, Lil Kim & Faith Evans started this trend for us. These ppl aren't trendsetters, WE ARE. Like you said, your mama nem BEEN DRESSING LIKE THIS😎
Ive loved Ginger from casino! As a kid I had a fake fur coat. Oh you know I walked around like ginger!
Ooo I love this look. But I'm 80's teen 😂
I’m from NJ..the home of The Sopranos.
I lived through this in the 80s and 90s. It will pass.
1:17 =... So nobody tried Harajuku yet? That's an explosive trend... Mob Wife's still a mehh... Harajuku is an explosion of identity, branching to multiple yet correlated styles... Still has a sense of individuality...
Being that I grew up with women who dressed like the “Mob Wife Esthetic” in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s I absolutely love it.
Carol do bambolê💃🏾
It’s a significant trend as it’s brought real fur back into fashion.
Saying a little prayer that real fur (not vintage) doesn't make a comeback.
Is somebody here trying to emulate this trend? Because it looks really exhausting
The funny thing is those mob wives could be powerful on their own just stealing their husband's empire
4:41 =Nahh... She's the stress reliever bait...
please do not buy fur for fun...
Vintage fur is ok though! It is more sustainable than plastic faux fur.
💜💜💜
They are dem trophy... never understood why one would love to dress like one.
Vintage Fur, ladies! 🌎
Faux fur is just plastic and it’s never going to biodegrade 🌎
Ima choose mob wife over trad wife, fight me ❤🔥💅
Melania!
Okay just like old money I see nothing wrong with the asthetic just the name tag of it. Like why relating loud luxury to mob wife’s only. Why not calling it like it is loud Luxury. Just simple we are going wild and big again.
And actually it’s better to mix up trends otherwise your look feels costumey or playing cosplay. Try simple jeans and t shirt either a leopard belt or bag or just one big logo in one of your items.
No need to go all quiet luxury or all Loud.
Wait, Lady GiGi was one, really?
😮😮
The think the pandemic gave The Sopranos more viewers and new viewers, which started the midwive tren, just my opinion. 🤔
At 10:15 her nostrils look like alien eyes. Change my mind 👽
My hubbie is in jail for organised crime. I’m on my own with no freedom (it’s not respectable to go out when they are in jail), no money and not much protection. It’s been a year and potentially we are facing another 7. My nice clothes are all I have, and I like to look nice for him on a visit. Honestly I find this trend insulting and it feels like appropriation or mocking my pain. I’d give away all the nice things to have him back home.
Is this rage bait? You can't possibly think people will feel sorry for you because your husband - the criminal- is in jail and may be for a while? And why would this trend be insulting to you? It's people wanting to look like you in their "nice" clothes, it's definitely not appropriation!
Girl please, nobody feels bad for you😂
WHO makes these trends though ? 😂
It doesn't matter. Majority of people are followers who want to blend in, so for as long as people dont evolve to be thinkers this will always happen to both sexes.
The look comes from being covetous and finally grifting enough money to buy something that is 20-30 years out of style; but you haven’t let go. In the 2000’s, mob wife hair & makeup looked like 80’s decadence. 20+ years later… 80’s decadence.
08:14
Kim K kinda managed recently but for the most part, this is fetch.
Shepherd's Chapel Network !!!!!!! Do you know where America is mentioned in the Bible ???????
Wow. People suck.
most mob wives dont dress this way ... or try not to .. not the real mob
This channel used to be interesting, not anymore.
A very flimsy conclusion to this vid. And both of you make very interesting points throughout it.