Remember those ugly sweaters your mom or aunt would buy you for Christmas? If you still have them hiding at the back of your closet, it’s time to get them out because they’re in style! That’s right, ugly Christmas sweaters are all the rage in the U.S. and Canada. Stores all over North America are stocking up on the most hideous novelty sweaters this holiday season.
F as in Frank, a vintage store in British Columbia, is one of the places selling the tacky woolen garments. Co-owner Drew Heifetz says that he has sold over 30,000 sweaters this year alone. “We’re trying to breathe new life into them and everyone is really coming together creating a culture around these sweaters and it’s been an amazing resurgence,” he said. “Really, it’s about having a good time, getting wild wearing the craziest sweater you can.”
Photographs on the internet show people wearing the most hideous sweaters conceivable. Some of them have Christmas tree ornaments hanging off them, others light up and some even have Santa with a furry beard. These sweaters were in fashion last year too, with the sweater industry reporting record sales during Christmas. But it looks like this year’s sales will break all records.
Photo: WFAA
In the United States, these sweaters are being sold in large outlets like Ragstock and in smaller novelty stores as well. In fact, there’s a shop in Dallas called the ‘Ugly Christmas Sweater Shop’. Customers browse through brightly colored woolens in a range of Christmas motifs. According to owner Jeremey Turner, “the whole thing of course, is the tackier the better.”
“So even in our shop, like, if you get the ugliest sweater, you’re going to spend a little bit more than, you know, an average, tacky sweater,” he says. “A couple of weeks ago we had one with Santa creeping in through a window. It was really creepy and that one went fast.” But the ones that fly off the shelves more than anything, says Jeremey, are the cat sweaters. Because people really love their cats.
Photo: WFAA
Kate Miller, a Christmas shopper from North Milwaukee, says she keeps an ugly sweater in her closet for all occasions. But this year, she’s looking for something even uglier. “A simple Christmas sweater is like not as fun as something that has a Santa and a mouse and six little characters and a hat! You know, it’s just the more the better!”
Most shoppers don’t need to worry about what to do with the ugly sweaters after the holidays are over. They could wrap and store the sweaters for next year (I’m sure they’ll still be in style). Or some stores have ‘buy-back’ policies, so they could just return the sweaters for cash.
Photo: WFAA
Here’s wishing you a very happy Christmas. May you find the ugliest sweater in town!
