CNN
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Transfer over twinkling fir bushes and wreaths, eggnog, stockings and the workplace secret Santa — there’s a brand new child on the town. Over the past decade the ugly Christmas sweater has firmly embedded itself in yuletide tradition.
You already know the one. It’s a wooly pullover, normally in several shades of crimson, white and inexperienced, typically of questionable material, and with no less than one Christmas-inspired motif on it — a snowman, tinsel, a reindeer or sweet canes. Additional factors if it options 3D pom-pom or jingle bells.
The garment has rapidly develop into a vital a part of the vacations, ubiquitous as Christmas lights and wrapping paper. It’s obnoxious and cheesy, but additionally fuzzy and sort of healthful — the style equal of a Hallmark Christmas film (with a wholesome dose of tongue-in-cheek).
It took a while for the UCS to search out its place within the pantheon of Christmas fundamentals, nevertheless.
Christmas-themed pullovers began making an look within the Fifties, a nod maybe to the vacation’s rising commercialization. Initially known as “Jingle Bell Sweaters,” they weren’t as garish as immediately’s iterations, and located little recognition available in the market, though some TV personalities — notably crooners Val Doonican and Andy Williams — actually embraced the ugly aspect of the festive topper.
It wasn’t till the Nineteen Eighties that the merchandise hit the mainstream. The shift got here because of popular culture and comedies, with goofball dad characters like Chevy Chase’s Clark Griswold in “Nationwide Lampoon’s Christmas Trip” turning the vacation sweater into an uncomely however endearing expression of cheer. Snowflake-emblazoned sweaters weren’t thought-about cool, however they radiated xmas, and have been sported at workplace events and on Christmas Day.
The resurgence didn’t final lengthy. Within the Nineteen Nineties the Christmas sweater pale in recognition; it was one thing solely your retro older relations would ever consider sporting or gifting. By the flip of the brand new millennium, the merchandise was broadly thought-about an eyebrow-raising sartorial mishap.
Consider 2001’s “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” wherein Colin Firth’s Mark Darcy turns to greet Bridget (Renée Zellweger) at a household celebration sporting an unattractive knitted garment that includes a large red-nosed reindeer. Bridget is horrified. So have been you, in all probability, if you happen to watched it within the cinema. However you in all probability additionally smiled. Such is the heartwarming energy of the UCS.
The early 2000s additionally noticed new life breathed into this now vacation staple. In accordance with the “Ugly Christmas Sweater Celebration E book: The Definitive Information to Getting Your Ugly On,” Christmas sweater events began kicking off simply across the time Bridget was recoiling at Darcy’s outfit.
The primary so themed get-together happened in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2002, mentioned Brian Miller, one of many ebook’s authors and founding father of on-line store UglyChristmasSweaterParty.com, in a telephone interview. “It’s exhausting to say what triggered the change in perspective, however I feel that the second somebody wore the garment in a humorous approach, individuals began seeing the comedian aspect of it, and pondering ‘this factor in the back of the closet could possibly be enjoyable, as a substitute of one thing terrible that no person desires’,” he mentioned.
The recognition of the ugly sweater snowballed from there.
Over the next decade, the festive knit advanced into “a brand new vacation custom,” as Miller described it. “It grew to become our era’s mistletoe,” he added. “Which is fairly exceptional, when you concentrate on it.”
Quick-fashion giants like Topshop and high-end retailers like Nordstrom started filling their cabinets and websites with gaudy designs every vacation season. Classic shops and the Salvation Military capitalized on the development by upping their shares of fuzzy snowmen and dancing Santa pullovers. Even the style pack got here round. In 2007, Stella McCartney launched a polar bear-themed alpine sweater. Givenchy adopted in 2010, and Dolce & Gabbana the next yr.
2012 was a turning level for the ugly sweater craze. UK charity Save the Kids launched Christmas Jumper Day, a fundraising occasion encouraging individuals to don their most cringeworthy sweaters. British newspaper The Telegraph described the merchandise as “this season’s must-have,” whereas the New York Occasions reported on ugly Christmas sweater-themed runs, pub crawls and specialised e-tailers booming throughout the States. Concurrently, the knits started displaying extra tinsel, bells and wacky particulars, reaching peak kitsch.
Celebrities, from Taylor Swift to Kanye West embraced the development, too. Late evening discuss present host Jimmy Fallon even began working an everyday section referred to as “12 Days of Christmas Sweaters,” which still airs today.
If something, the rise of social media has solely heightened the “It” standing of the ugly sweater. As we speak, we compete to indicate off our Christmas-sweater love on Instagram, whereas anybody from mass retailer Goal to quick meals chain Crimson Lobster (whose UCS encompasses a pocket to maintain meals heat), and extra trend homes supply their very own variations of the garment.
“After I attended my first Ugly Sweater Celebration within the early 2000s, I’d have by no means anticipated the garment would take off like this,” Miller mentioned. “Though it’s straightforward to see why: ugly knits will be worn by anybody — from my daughter at her college’s ugly sweater contest to workplace employees at their finish of yr celebration. They’re democratic. They usually’re a variety of enjoyable. Christmas will be fairly aggravating — sporting one thing ridiculous may help take the strain off.”
This text was first revealed in December 2019.