Oh my God! These diamonds! Harry Winston, baby. While The Sopranos has always been praised for its complex storytelling, phenomenal acting, and pioneering cinematic television, its costume design has always been overlooked. This oversight is strange because most characters had distinctive and authentic personal styles. Furio had a thing for silk Versace shirts, Adriana was known for her affinity for animal prints, Gloria’s coat game was simply unmatched, and Carmela glistened in her diamond jewelry on a daily basis. But recently, a TikTok aesthetic called the Mob Wife rose to prominence, intriguingly coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the show’s debut. Clean Girl is out, Mob Wife Era is in, okay? Starbucks and black puffers are out. We're wearing vintage furs all winter. This trend is all about glamour and excessive opulence, and its key elements include fur coats, animal prints, chunky jewelry, big sunglasses, french tip manicures, and high-volume hairdos essentially mirroring the fashion choices of the main female characters on The Sopranos. Therefore, I decided to delve into the fashion styles of Carmela Soprano and Adriana La Cerva and shed light on the show’s captivating costume design. At first glance, Carmela’s life appears to
epitomize perfection and aspiration. She lives in a mini-mansion, enjoys a steady stream
of luxurious gifts from her husband Tony, the mob boss, and never seems to have a bad hair
day. She effortlessly dazzles at big parties, organizes family dinners and barbecues, and fills
her days with tennis lessons and afternoon teas. Yet, above all else, Carmela exudes glamour, which seems to define her very existence. Throughout the series, Carmela consistently showcases her opulent lifestyle and desire to flaunt her wealth through her fashion choices. Her wardrobe is filled with fur coats, expensive pieces from mostly Italian designers. By the way, your Moschino Pedal Pusher suit, it just flew out of there. Oh good good good and luxurious bags like Lady Dior and Prada Bowling. She frequently opts for well-tailored clothing in soft pastel blues, bright yellows, and various shades of green. Despite having a particular fondness for diamonds, she also embraces chunky jewelry and ornate chain belts, which add another layer of opulence to her outfits, underscoring her commitment to maintaining a sophisticated appearance. Wanna see 50 Gs? Oh my God But while the current Tiktok aesthetic cosplays
the mob boss’s wife's life on a very superficial level, focusing only on its glamorous part, Carmela’s character shows how anxiety-inducing and straight-up dangerous this lifestyle really is. We witness her constantly worrying about her family’s safety and how growing up in this violent environment will affect her kids in the future. And spoiler alert: it will significantly impact their mental health. I'm worried, Ad. Everybody's worried. No. I am worried all the time. What I personally find the most interesting about Carmela is that, unlike Mad Men’s Betty Draper, who discovers her husband's real identity mid-show, Carmela knows from the very beginning what Tony does for a living. On my second date, he brought me and my mother each a dozen roses and my father a $200 power drill I knew that behind that power drill, there was probably
some guy with a broken arm, you know or, or worse. In fact, she even helps him to hide
some incriminating evidence in season one and, despite being aware of his infidelity, consciously
chooses to turn a blind eye to it. Everybody's marriage has problems. So he's seeing another
woman? Yeah, you can make that plural. I could deal with the goomas. I knew I was better than them. Hence, Carmela’s life is actually all about performing. Whether it's the meticulously crafted portrayal of perfection, projecting an image of a happy marriage, or presenting herself as a devout Christian, she consistently engages in these performances and uses fashion and style
as her main tools. I don't know if you've noticed but most characters on The Sopranos have
their signature clothing item. For Tony, it’s his yellow gold Rolex watch; for Furio, it's
his Versace shirt collection, and for Carmela, it’s her cross necklace. She wears it to appear
as a good catholic, yet we know the truth differs from this facade. Religion becomes her main tool
for justifying her marriage to a mob boss. She firmly believes she will be forgiven if she just confesses her sins, and her guilt and shame will magically disappear. I wanted a better life, good
schools. I wanted this house. Wanted money in my hands. Still, no matter how deeply flawed Carmela is, she always has her nails perfectly manicured and her hair styled. Speaking about her hair, during the initial seasons, Carmela rocks those iconic 90s fluffy blowouts. However, in the show’s 4th season, which aired in 2002, Carmela goes through quite a hairstyle change and essentially gets the infamous "Karen" haircut. What did you do to your hair? I cut it. What do you think of it? It's worth noting that this choice perfectly encapsulates the zeitgeist, as it was a very trendy haircut in the early 2000s. Naturally, at the time, Carmela couldn't have foreseen that this hairstyle would later become synonymous with certain negative stereotypes, but her character seemed to adopt some Karen-like behavior shortly after the haircut, adding an interesting layer to her character development. While Carmela's style revolves around performing
perfection, Adriana's fashion choices celebrate authenticity. Her unapologetic glamour sets
her apart as the most stylish character on The Sopranos, and her signature look embodies
a true time capsule of early 2000s fashion. She frequently wears low-rise, tight-fitted pants, usually paired with cropped tops, long acrylic nails, velour tracksuits,
massive hoop earrings, and designer stilettos. Anybody around here love the word Jimmy Choo shoes? Oh my God! Adriana's accessory collection includes the timeless Chanel bucket bag and the classic Versace belt. However, she doesn’t stay away from micro trends either, as in one of the episodes, we can see her in the iconic Ungaro butterfly top. This bedazzled, tied-up open-back top was famously worn by Mariah Carrey, and it quickly became extremely popular in the early 2000s. For its Spring 2022 collection, Italian luxury fashion house Blumarine brought back butterfly tops and once again, they became extremely popular among celebrities, but also on TikTok. On The Sopranos, Adrianna chose a dark purple version of this top, and she looks absolutely stunning in it. Okay, now this is the Donatella Versace. Nice. You like better than the Alaia? Yet, to truly capture Adriana's iconic style, we must add one more element: animal prints. Throughout the show, she wears various clothes with leopard, cheetah, and tiger prints. Actually, Adriana has been so associated with feline print clothing that many fans of The Sopranos believe she was reincarnated as a cat in season six after her death. And well, they say cats have nine lives, so who knows? Adriana’s most memorable feline print look was this jaw-dropping Roberto Cavalli tiger dress from his Fall Winter 2000 collection. The same dress was spotted on Kourtney and Kim Kardashian and I’m pretty sure that in a different episode, Adriana wears trousers from the same collection In ‘Fierce: The History of Leopard Print,’ Jo Weldon writes: People who wear leopard print aren’t afraid to make themselves visible. They wear it to stand out, not to blend in. [...] They wear it to appear seductive, purposeful, luxurious, dangerous, and playful. It evokes both nocturnal intimacy and the lush outdoors. It refers to both danger and innocence of nature. People speak of it with delight or disgust, but no one can simply ignore it. Adriana's character embodies these qualities, having grown up in the dangerous mafia world while aspiring to a better and safer life for herself and her partner Chris. Her wardrobe may be filled with designer clothes and jewelry, but she remains dedicated and hardworking. Why don't you just forget about working and be with me? Oh yeah, and be one of those wives like Carmela Soprano!? And while there’s definitely some heightened sexuality to how Adriana dresses, and it’s certainly difficult not to notice her, she’s not really a seductress. Instead, her personality is extremely gentle, kind, and lovable. She’s very supportive of Chris and constantly pushes him to pursue his passions. Her deepest dreams revolve around love and family, so it’s almost as if her appearance is a form of armor to protect her sweet personality. As you can see, the fashion on The Sopranos is
so much more than the viral Mob Wife aesthetic; it’s a true expression of the characters'
personalities. While the TikTok trend may focus on the surface glamour, the series delves deep
into the nuanced relationships between fashion and identity. If you liked this video, give it a
like and subscribe to my channel for more fashion analyses. Thank you so much for watching and goodbye! You wanna know what I’m interested in? Men’s fashion.
