Image Source: Everett Collection
If you lived by the “clean girl” aesthetic in 2023, it’s time to do a total 180. According to social media, minimalist beauty is out, and channeling a “mob wife winter” is in. Yes, it’s time to embrace this bold, brash, unashamedly over-the-top trend that oozes attitude. Like with last year’s “frazzled English woman”, TikTok is to thank for coining the term and the movie star look is about to take over your mood boards.
“Quiet luxury” may have been the look du jour last year thanks to the likes of Sofia Richie and Kendall Jenner with neutral nails, minimalist makeup, and sleek hair taking the spotlight, but the mob wife winter is about to strut all over your nude lip gloss. With the hashtag #mobwifewinter currently racking up 9.8 million views on TikTok and counting, it’s the disruptive trend that is not going anywhere.
Look to the likes of the OG Carmelo Soprano for inspiration. Think Elvira Hancock in “Scarface,” Karen Hill in “Goodfellas,” or Rosalyn Rosenfeld in “American Hustle.” What do they all have in common? Big hair. Bouncy, voluminous blowouts are the signature of a mob wife – after all, it’s where she hides all her secrets.
TikTok user Abbey Sadleir is just one of the creators adopting the trend. “You said big hair, I said no problem,” she says while taking large rollers out of her hair and spraying her roots with Hair by Sam McKnight spray. “It’s having a signature scent,” she adds – and you better believe it’s a ’90s classic fragrance like Gucci Rush.
@abbeysadleir Replying to @Koda big enough yet? Mob wife era is realky kicking in 🖤 @Hair By Sam McKnight working its powers #mobwife #mobwifeaesthetic #mobwifewinter #mobwifeglamour #hairtutorial #hairrollers #90sblowout Mob wife Mob wife glamour Mob wife aesthetic Mob wife vibes Mob wife hair Velcro rollers tutorial Hair rollers 90s blowout
Then there’s the makeup. It’s smoky eyes and over-lined lips or a red femme fatale sweep for an evening look. The key? Don’t make it perfect. It’s glamour without being too “done.” As for the nails, mix it up between a chunky, square french tip or an elongated pillar box red.
To complete the look, add sunglasses at all times, chunky gold jewelry, vintage faux fur coats, and animal prints. But the ultimate accessory? Your attitude. TikTok user Mikayla Toninato offers the lowdown on what this means. “We all want to be the mob boss’s wife because she is a boss in and of herself. A mob wife is unbothered, she has places to be, people to see, she does not deal with your bullshit, she does not take anything from anyone,” she says, before later adding, “she has red lips, she has red fingernails, she always has smoky makeup, we’re going to keep doing the big blowouts.”
@mikaylatoninato I was honestly made for this #mobwife #mobwifeaesthetic #cleangirl #cleangirlaesthetic #mobwifewinter #style #styletips
If you think this is a passing fad that won’t catch on, you’re already behind. Dua Lipa took on the mob wife aesthetic back in November, stepping out in a statement-making black fur coat with square-tip nails. Kylie Jenner also adopted the look for a while with dark lined lips and bouncy hair. Then, Jennifer Lawrence nailed the attitude at the Golden Globes in January when she hilariously mouthed to the camera, “If I don’t win, I’m leaving”. Peak mob boss behavior.
Looking to ditch your cream jumper dress in favor of a logo-embossed catsuit? Then read ahead for more inspiration to make it a mob wife winter (awful husbands never included).
Image Source: Everett Collection
Sharon Stone Playing Ginger McKenna in “Casino” epitomizes the mob wife winter aesthetic with smoky eye makeup, vampish lips, and voluminous ponytail.
Image Source: Everett Collection
The chunky, square French tip nails as modlled by Michelle Pfeiffer playing Elvira Hancock in “Scarface.”
Image Source: Everett Collection
OK, so technically Jennifer Lawrence played a con artist’s wife in “American Hustle,” but she has nailed the mob wife aesthetic with big, big hair and smoky eyes.
Image Source: Everett Collection
Lorraine Bracco as Karen Hill in “Goodfellas” pulls off the mob wife hair perfectly.
Image Source: Getty Images
Dua Lipa took the mob wife winter to real life by stepping out in New York City in November in a fur coat, barely-there dress, red lips, and square-shaped nails.
Image Source: Getty Images
Coiffed hair, dark lined lips, and black latex were giving mob wife as Kylie Jenner attended the Wall Street Journal Magazine 2023 Innovator Awards in November.
