One of TikTok’s few long-lasting trends, the “clean girl” aesthetic took over our social media accounts and our credit cards alike.
Despite the trend’s popularity, it may have finally met its match in the mob wife. This year’s first major style trend is a rebellion against the clean girl aesthetic and it’s already begun influencing brand designs.
The clean girl aesthetic defined 2023 on various social media platforms — TikTok especially.
The clean girl aesthetic consists of effortless or timeless clothing pieces. Favoring neutral colored clothing, tailored jeans, a classic white T-shirt, knitted sweaters, button-down shirts, denim mini skirts and more. The trend’s concept of simplicity has even influenced nails, hairdos and glowy makeup looks.
Many influencers and members of the fashion community refer to the trend as a modern spin-off of the Scandi minimal look or the French girl aesthetic, as these trends are notoriously known for echoing simplicity.
Some prominent figures who embody this trend are Matilda Djerf and Hailey Bieber, who have both popularized the trend. The clean girl aesthetic also encourages an active and productive lifestyle.
The core of this trend is looking out for yourself and being put together, whether that means influencing people to wakeing up early, haveing a scheduled routine or lookking out for theiryour physical and mental well-being.
Today, an aesthetic that’s practically the polar opposite of the clean girl trend is gaining popularity. Figures of the fashion community view it as a rebellion against clean girl: the “mob wife” aesthetic.
The aesthetic reflects an overexposed and provocative lifestyle heavily inspired by “The Sopranos” character Adriana La Cerva and the 2011 reality TV show “Mob Wives.” The trend favors dark colors, animal print, chunky gold jewelry, faux fur and fur coats. The mob wife makeup look also favors heavier makeup, featuring thick eyeliner, sparkly eyeshadow and red lipstick.
Everything about the mob wife is big, bold, luxurious and maybe a little mysterious.
Unlike the clean girl, the mob wife revels in overt displays of wealth in loud, expensive looking jewelry and bold coats, rather than in the subtler green juices and workout class passes toted by the clean girl. The mob wife trend is unapologetic.
Brands of various price ranges shifted their designs to fit the mob wife trend, including everything from Reformation to Mango to H&M. Adidas’ Gazelle collection, known for their simple and classic design, collaborated with Wales Bonner to design a maximalist sneaker featuring faux calf hair, dark colors, gold and cheetah prints.
Kendall Jenner and Irina Shayk have always somewhat embodied the trend, but now these two popular models are regularly spotted in outfits embodying the mob wife aesthetic.
As various brands create designs that correlate with the increasingly popular trend, it’s clear that the mob wife is here to stay.
That isn’t to say the clean girl aesthetic is going anywhere. As trends throughout the years go by, there is something about a tailored pair of jeans, a simple T-shirt or sweater and sneakers that will simply never go out of style.
Still, it’s clear the mob wife aesthetic is the first true trend of 2024, and that it will influence our perception of fashion and have more to do with defining our looks for the foreseeable future.
This article was edited by Eliza DuBose, Sara Winick and Abigail Pritchard. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Isabelle Kravis and Charlie Mennuti.
