UNDER THE ARMOUR

The mob wife is an official goodbye to girlhood. But the loud aesthetic conceals a dark underbelly.

- JISHNU BANDYOPADHYAY

For years, the language of high fashion has spoken in whispers of the mob wife archetype. The bold jewels and dramatic shoulders of Schiaparelli, the sinuous leather and figure-hugging silhouettes of Alaïa, the opulent pronouncements of Italian houses like Versace and Dolce & Gabbana—all have echoed in the corridors of couture. Yet, it was the TikToks of influencer Sarah Jordan Arcuri, the self-proclaimed “Mob Wife Aesthetic CEO,” and Kayla Trivieri that ignited the inferno. Kayla’s viral video featured a tonguein-cheek decree via photos of The Sopranos’ Carmela Soprano—“Clean girl is out; mob wife era is in, okay?”—and suddenly, the mob wife aesthetic was a global phenomenon.