“Do you think it’s too much if I wear all these on the same day?” squeals Ginger McKenna (played by Sharon Stone) in the 1970s- and ’80s-set Casino. Ginger gets a trunk full of Bulgari bracelets, rings, necklaces, and earrings from her paramour, pro gambler/mafioso Sam “Ace” Rothstein (Robert De Niro), and spreads them on the bed in all their gilded glory. Now, nearly 30 years later, we know that con artist Ginger—with her big hair, red lips, chinchilla coat, and statement gold jewels—was creating the blueprint for a now-ubiquitous fashion aesthetic. “Mob wife style may sound like a slightly sinister trend, but it is really just a fun label for over-the-top glamour,” says Marion Fasel, founder and editorial director of The Adventurine. “The references are generally kept in the fictional world of film and TV. In terms of jewelry, there is no better example than Sharon Stone in Casino. She captured the Mob wife look to perfection.”
(Photo: © Universal Pictures/MPTV Images)
