I hear you, you’re saying ‘Give me a break, it’s not anywhere near Christmas yet!’ and you’re right. But sorry, I’m not going to give you a break. Think of it this way, I’m just giving you a heads up and an early start on getting ready to be jolly this season.
What is an Ugly Christmas Sweater
For starters Christmas sweaters are sweaters that say yuletide. They’re kind of fuzzy, warm and wholesome. Ugly Christmas sweaters on the other hand don’t simply say yuletide, they scream it. They do it in an obnoxious, gaudy, tacky sort of way. Often times they are referred to by the abbreviation UCS. You know the situation is somewhat out of control when you start to call something by its initials only.
UCS usually come in one of three colors, red, green and white, but they can appear in other colors. They have at least one Christmassy inspired motif on them but the more the merrier! The motifs can be anything remotely connected with the holiday so the range is from snowmen, tinsel, reindeer, Santa with candy canes to elves and much, much more. Real attention getters are the ones with little bells sewn into them or blinky lights. And, believe it or not, these anything but subdued sweaters have turned into must-have seasonal wear.
So move over twinkling Christmas trees, wreaths, eggnog, fruit cake and stockings hung over the fireplace, you’ve got company. Whether you like them or not, they’re here to stay.
The History Behind the Sweater
These sweaters didn’t just appear out of the blue, they’ve been a while in coming. I suppose, as you can imagine, that the first knitted garments go way back. Probably to ancient Egypt. Then the next thing you know, the ‘Cardigen sweater’ appears in the 17th century. It was named after the seventh Earl of Cardigen and was a knitted military sleeveless vest that could open in the front. Next the sweater, which is defined as being a long sleeve pullover appeared around 1882. Finally, around 100 years later the logical progression is made from the sweater to the ugly Christmas sweater.
But the ugly Christmas sweater wasn’t the overnight success story it sounds like. What was known as ‘Jingle Bell Sweaters’ hit the scene around 1950, probably due to Christmas’s growing commercialization and a growing economy. People had money to spend on non-essentials. These sweaters were more than likely thought to be fashionable and considered tasteful back then. The Jingle Bell Sweaters were nowhere near as popular as today’s versions. Even though they had some mainstream promoters, like the crooner Andy Williams.
Popularization of Bad Taste
The ugly Christmas sweater is basically the fashion equivalent to the 1980’s whacky, goofball Christmas movies. That’s when the holiday sweater hit the mainstream the first time. Unfortunately or fortunately, whichever way you want to look at it, they faded in popularity pretty quickly by the millennium. But the movie industry came to the rescue again. The 2001 film ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ featured the character Marc Darcy in a rather unattractive sweater sporting a giant red nosed reindeer. The UCS was back and this time was here to stay.
The sweater has turned into the new holiday tradition and you can find them in fashion stores and even high-end retailers fill their shelves with them. Newspapers report about them, there are fundraisers using the craze to raise money for good causes. And there has been at least one book written on the subject ‘The Definitive Guide to Getting Your Ugly On’ was written 2011, by Brian Miller. And, naturally, at least one blogger has written about them!
Even the US late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon joined the craze and started running a regular segment called ’12 Days of Christmas Sweater’. It still runs today or at least I think it does. Last year I saw a couple sweaters episodes and believe me, there were some pretty wild, blinking, twinkling and chiming sweaters they gave away. Besides, who says these sweaters are ugly or in bad taste? After all, the people who got a sweater looked really happy about it. I guess, Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Why Wear Something Called Ugly
Often you hear about all the stress the Christmas season brings with it. Wearing a corny, quirky, loose hanging ugly Christmas sweater brings an endearing smile to everyone’s face. It takes the stress out of Christmas. That sounds like a mighty good reason to me.
Now that I’ve got you in the holiday spirit, I hope I’ve tickled your fancy with these sweaters. To answer your next question, possibly before you even knew you were going to ask it, where can I find an ugly Christmas sweater for me? I found a great starters website called Ugly Christmas Sweater.com. It is as good a place as any to start looking for the right sweater for you. It’s located in the US but you can get ideas to make your own. And, if you are in Switzerland there are places here where you can find some gems, too. Last year I found some at C&A in Switzerland. Maybe they’ll have some this year, too.
So as you can see this is a fashion statement that goes way beyond the US, it can even be found in Switzerland. Now that is saying something.
Ready? Not Yet? Okay, one last thing: National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day. Yes, there is one and it’s December 21st, that didn’t surprise you, did it? Now there’s no excuse not to go get yourself one. You certainly don’t want to be caught underdressed on December 21st, now do you?
Image sources: pixabay.com
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