Married to the Mob: The Ultimate Earring Movie
Plus: Fine jewelry brand Maison H's covetable new pinky rings
Married to the Mob, the pitch-perfect 1988 Jonathan Demme comedy starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, and Dean Stockwell, can credit its visual pop to the work of costume design legend Colleen Atwood, who fused classic mob wife aesthetics with late 80s kitsch for the brilliant ensemble cast.
The story of Angela (Michelle Pfeiffer), who’s hoping to escape her husband‘s violent mafia life after he gets “iced,” creates the perfect landscape for Atwood to play with New Jersey housewife style—on steroids. The giant earrings that hang under the teased hair of every female character are simply magnificent—and capture the cartoonish-ness of 1980s style.
Pfeiffer wears the least insane earrings: oversized metal hoops and a pair of gold earrings with chain swags that drop to her shoulders. She also dons a memorable pair of painted (or acrylic?) round earrings that depict cowboys in the scene when she comes clean with Matthew Modine about her past. Her nemesis, mob boss wife Connie (Mercedes Ruehl, who is amazing in the movie) wears the nuttiest danglers; Atwood puts her in a different pair of huge, Rococo-lite plastic earrings in nearly every scene.
When Married to the Mob came out in 1988, the Dynasty-’80s shoulder-pad aesthetic was already waning—Atwood knew this, and made all the female actors except Angela look hyper-suburban, deftly capturing the closed community style of a Long Island mafia family. The oversized jewelry trend had already given way to what would become early ’90s minimalism (enter Kate Moss and sterling silver).
Demme visually heightened the reality of the characters’ world, and Atwood followed suit, playing with mob tropes (fur, jewelry, big hair, frosty makeup, fedoras, overcoats) to make every character look like they popped out of a graphic novel.
Today, the kind of well-preserved 1980s-era earrings she deployed in the movie are coveted, and collectible, in a big way. I know many jewelry obsessives who would love to own Angela or Connie’s over-the-top accessories, myself included!
Maison H’s magnificent pinky rings
Dubai-based jewelry brand Maison H has a new line of gemstone pinky rings that feel more signet than solitaire—but are actually solitaires with thicker-than-usual gold bezels (borders around a gems). Called Pinky, the collection is notable for its clever spin on a classic, but also for its brilliant use of rose gold. I’ve never been a big fan of the ‘ole rose gold, but this collection trades the metal’s usual mirror shine for a smokier satin patina. And the final effect resembles a metal wood, which is so subtle and cool it makes me nauseous!