We've lived through Barbiecore and dipped our ballet flats into the ultra-feminine Coquette aesthetic, but there's a new fashion craze on the scene: the 'Mob Wife'.
"I hear the 'mob wife aesthetic' is making a comeback…" director Francis Ford Coppola penned in an Instagram post last week. Yes, even The Godfather director weighed in on TikTok's latest viral trend, which is seeing everything from leopard print to faux fur making a garish comeback.
Rewind to the ‘80s and ‘90s when gangster dolls, like Carmella Soprano and Lorraine Bracco, were the unsung heroes of mafia-run family businesses, communities and groups. AKA, the original mob wife.
© HBOIn short, the playful style trend lends itself to elegant, edgy and eccentric styling opportunities. Think heavy gold jewellery and even heavier eyeliner, outlandish fur coats, oversized sunglasses and leather, leather, more leather.
Ever since this trend started dominating my TikTok feed, I immediately turned to the style icons I've been writing about on a daily basis for the last three years… the royals.
From the Duchess of Edinburgh's penchant for patent leather, to Princess Margaret's unapologetic love of pearls and fur, forget the leading ladies of "The Sopranos," let me convince you how the royals were the original femme fatales.
© John Stillwell - PA ImagesPrincess Margaret's gangster doll lifestyle
The original mob wives were born in the 1980s when smoking cigarettes was still considered the epitome of glamour. Princess Margaret's rock 'n' roll lifestyle, most recently revived in Netflix's The Crown, is undeniably mob wife coded.
© Anwar HusseinPrincess Margaret was often seen pairing a silk headscarf with oversized sunglasses, the ultimate combination of accessories to ooze mob wife glamour. The bolder the frame, the bigger the mob wife energy.
© Tim Rooke/ShutterstockDuchess Sophie's vampy leather heels
Heels are the only acceptable footwear for a mob wife, and bonus points if they're leather and go over-the-knee.
Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, was serving serious mobster vibes in her vampy all-leather look worn in Surrey last year.
MORE: 7 times Duchess Sophie wore the most amazing leather outfits
© ShutterstockPrincess Kate's heavy eyeliner
Princess Kate always boasts a glowing complexion, highlighted by her go-to beauty combination of a dewy foundation, rosy blush and softly defined cheek and brow bones.
Up until the late 2010s, however, Kate leaned into far heavier makeup trends, often stepping out with a deep pink, layered blush and several lashings of mascara and eyeliner - the exact, audacious, messy glamour that suits the mob wife aesthetic.
© AFPPrincess Kate's mob wife leopard print
Leopard print - the mob wife's unofficial uniform - never looked better on the Princess of Wales, who took a walk on the wild side in this garish animal-print shift dress during her first pregnancy with Prince George.
© Max Mumby/IndigoPrincess Anne's bouffant 'do
The bigger the better when it comes to mob wife hairstyles. From bouffant blowouts to flirty up-dos, a gangster's doll needs a seriously glamorous 'do.
Princess Anne, with her 50-year loyalty to her beloved bee-hive chignon hairstyle, has long been a mob wife matriarch.
THROWBACK: Rare photo of Princess Anne's waist-length hair will make you double take
© Jean CatuffePrincess Charlene's 'Geddoudahere!’ sunglasses
Nothing says 'mob wife' quite like cherry red lipstick and a pair of obnoxiously large sunglasses - Princess Charlene of Monaco's signature look that screams New York 'old money', in mobster world, of course.
© Dirk Zengel/dana press/ShutterstockCrown Princess Mary's loud leopard print
Crown Princess Mary of Sweden's glittering By Malina leopard print maxi dress wouldn't look out of place in downtown New York.
© Pool/Tim Graham Picture LibraryThe Queen's fabulous faux fur coats
Faux fur is having a major revival thanks to TikTok's latest style trend. But who was the original trendsetter to shun the use of real fur? Queen Elizabeth II.
In 2019, Her Late Majesty officially declared she would no longer be wearing or purchasing garments that used real animal fur. How mob wife of her to go faux.
