Here’s How to ACTUALLY Pull Off the ‘Mob Wife’ Aesthetic
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It’s that time of year when a trend dies and another one is born. This year, 2024, has transitioned from the clean girl aesthetic, a celebration of minimal everything and barely-there anything, to the mob wife aesthetic. But what is the mob wife aesthetic anyway? As the iconic mob crime and drama show The Sopranos celebrates its 25th anniversary, so does the internet. This new trend has taken TikTok and social media by storm, with posters glorifying the sartorial style choices of the late 1990s and early 2000s mob wives on TV. Whether that means rocking a Carmela Soprano (played by Edie Falco)–inspired faux fur coat, going heavy on the eye makeup as Goodfellas’ Karen Hill (Lorraine Bracco) brazenly did, or a high-slitted silk dress like the one Michelle Pfeiffer rocked while playing Elvira Hancock in Scarface—it all counts. Bring on the faux furs, stacked jewels, heavy eye makeup, red accents, leather handbags, and animal prints.
But how does that translate to interiors? “The mob wife aesthetic humorously embraces the taste for assumed maximalism that has signaled flashy opulence throughout the history of humankind,” says Isabelle Dubern-Mallevays, one of the founders of the Invisible Collection. “It’s all about mixing different eras, overloaded decorations, endless collections, and a form of brilliant extravagance that has always been a part of interior design.” In other words? Your home can have just as much fun as your closet, and it doesn’t have to mean starting from scratch.
Interested in giving your home a little mob wife energy? Take a look at these 10 lush mob-wife-style home decor ideas we dug up from the ELLE DECOR archives and from some of our favorite interior designers. Let your inner Carmela shine!
Glam and Grand
A faux-fur throw blanket is simple yet effective if you want to add drama and texture to a room. The primary bedroom in this Greek Revival home in New York’s Hudson Valley designed by Miles Redd does just that. The wrought-iron bed by Oscar de la Renta is fitted with a canopy of silk by Roger Arlington Designs. Certainly the perfect place to lounge on a weekday morning while your mobster husband is out establishing his territory.
Maximalist Furniture
This Manhattan apartment filled with antiques and plump furniture is every mob wife’s dream. In the living room of the home designed by Patrick Mele, the sofa by Vladimir Kagan is decorated with a vintage pillow. We especially love the 1940s rope chair in an animal print fabric by Fortuny.
Mixed Period Styles
Mixing pieces from different time periods just screams mob wife design, and this Bel-Air, California, estate recreates that perfectly. Interior designer Mary McDonald decorated the entryway by hanging Bert Stern photographs of Marilyn Monroe at the end of the entry gallery that instill a sense of timelessness. The bergères are Louis XVI, and the wallcovering is by de Gournay.
Raucous Ruby Red
If there’s anything we learned from the ’70s, it’s that life’s too short to go neutral. Case in point: This monochrome television lounge, painted ruby all over with Farrow & Ball’s Rectory Red paint, is dripping in mob wife energy. The bespoke sectional sofa in a plush raspberry chenille velvet is by Pierre Frey and the mohair rug by the Rug Company.
Versace Versace
“I’m not a minimalist,” is what Donatella Versace told ELLE DECOR back in 2006, and her Milan home proves it. In the sitting area, the dark blue sofas are paired with tiger print throw blankets, and the Empire-style walnut cocktail table has a scagliola top. The paintings are by Mimmo Paladino.
Unexpected Classicism
Spanish architect Amaro Sánchez de Moya is known for his “maximalist classicism that embraces symmetry, ordered lines, and sumptuous textiles to outfit a royal court or two.” When it came to designing his pied-à-terre in Seville, Spain, he wanted to mix classical but also the unpredictable. In the salon, the 19th-century French sofa is in a Nobilis fabric, the cocktail table is custom, the Napoleon III screen is in a Pierre Frey fabric, and the 18th-century artwork is French.
Snakeskin State of Mind
This 1950s ranch house in Snedens Landing, New York, designed by Ernest de la Torre proclaims its love for animal print—in this case, snakes. If you want to keep your living room somewhat neutral but add a surprise factor, this is the way to do it. Here, the Josef Hoffmann chairs are covered in Burmese python.
Mob Wife Bedroom
Interior designer Sasha Bikoff created this Baroque-style bedroom with excessive glamour in mind. “The mob wife aesthetic specifically pays homage to Art Deco and the 1980s Deco revival. Its design roots are always influenced by Italian and Baroque styles,” she explains. In the room, the panther wallpaper is by Pierre Frey with fig-colored bedding by Bella Notte Linens.
Gilded Glamour
Mob wives love anything that shines, and the living room of this New Jersey home is on point for all things gold. The sofa is in a Jab Anstoetz velvet, and the armchairs are in a Lauren Hwang fabric. The custom cocktail table is by Larrea Studio, and the neoclassical Italian chandeliers are from Hirschl & Adler.
Bronze Statement
“I believe every room needs a little something that makes you go ‘hmmm,’” says interior designer Corey Damen Jenkins, who decorated this space with fashion designer Thom Browne. The tiger print bergère by Lee Jofa is paired with a series of antique wall hangings, including a gilt-framed looking glass, circa 1810. Jenkins and Browne topped it off with a fabulous gilded side table. It checks off all the boxes.
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