A fashion trend you really can’t refuse

BEGONE quiet luxury in all your understated chic – we’re in the full-blown era of the mob wife. And what a joy for those who have never really understood the appeal of navy eight-ply cashmere and a simple pair of black trousers. This weekend, I hosted a vintage fashion sale for charity where several pieces of real fur had been donated. I wasn’t sure there would be buyers in this anti-fur age, but one of our first sales was a fabulous white fur coat that could have graced Victoria Gotti – the daughter of ruthless Gambino crime family boss John Gotti – in her prime.

Fur, so long as it’s vintage or fake and not new, is now one of the biggest trends. The mob-wife look is unapologetically ostentatious and, in The Sopranos’ 25th anniversary year, acts an impeccable style guide.

Drea de Matteo as Adriana provides a one-stop template in all her tawny-maned, animalprint prime. Another inspiration is Lorraine Bracco as mob wife Karen in Goodfellas: gold hoop earrings, tiger print, black leather, big – no, huge – hair, red talon nails, heavy black eyes and fur with everything is the way to go.

The mob-wife look is the antidote to years of minimalist chic and the stealth-wealth style that gave brands such as the Olsen twins’ wildly-expensive The Row and the Italian Loro Piana pole position.

It is easy to adopt inexpensively from the high street and vintage stores. The appeal is that it’s fun, easy to tap into and provides a filip in these uncertain times. Also, the heavy make-up is the opposite in approach to the clean beauty of recent years.

Many women have enjoyed flaunting their mob credentials for years. Cosmetic queen Charlotte Tilbury – who claims her husband has never seen her, even in bed, without eye-make-up – leads the team, followed by

Kate Moss who has embraced sexy black and leopard print for years. Amazon boss Jeff Bezos’s inamorata Lauren Sanchez would be at home in any mobster gathering with her ink-black hair and penchant for revealing oufits.

A pair of animal-print pants, cat-eye sunglasses, skinny high heels and an Elnett-powered backcombed hair-do is all you need. And ditch those trainers.

Although the ultimate two accessories are less easy to buy: a husband with a pinkie ring and gold chains... and a terrifying mother-in-law.

HOW often do you have sex? I’m pretty sure that isn’t a question you are prepared to address publicly. I’m certainly not. Not even to my closest friends – let alone readers of The Mail on Sunday.

Last year, TV presenter Mariella Frostrup revealed that she and her husband diarised sex but she didn’t go so far as to say how often those occasions were pencilled in.

However, the comedian Katherine Ryan mentioned in an interview with Style magazine that she logs the times she has sex with her husband and it happens ‘exactly twice a month’. So precise? And is that typical?

People might discuss the subject in broad terms, such as ‘He wants it all the time’ or ‘I’ve forgotten what sex is’, but it’s rare, even among our nearest and dearest, to talk about the real numbers.

Despite so much that’s written and spoken about sex, our personal frequency remains taboo.

Which is odd, considering that most people are happy to reveal details of their politics or religion – personal subjects which alongside sex were once regarded as unacceptable to discuss around a polite dinner table.

But now, even though sex is tossed around conversationally, I don’t recall anyone confessing as to how many times they ‘do it’.

It seems that the idea of sharing our sexual schedule is still too embarrassing, still too personal to contemplate. If I revealed mine, would my behaviour be thought tragically limited or freakishly active?

I have absolutely no idea what the norm is among my friendship group. Once a week, twice daily, once a month, high days and holiAlthough days only – who knows?

Of course, I’d love to find out. Generally, it is impossible to predict another couple’s sexual behaviour and often it can be surprising.

it would be fascinating to know more, since I’m not revealing anything myself, I don’t think our true bonking tally is going to emerge anytime soon.