No holiday party is complete without an “ugly sweater.” While a staple of the modern seasonal party, the ugly Christmas sweater is a relatively recent trend in festive wear.
Modern holiday sweaters can be traced back to more practical styles from the post-war era of the 1940s in the United States. Families would wear hand-knit garments, sometimes decorated with festive characters.
During the cultural revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, patterns became bolder, more colorful, and tinged with irony. Classic patterns of Santa Claus were updated for the modern era with sunglasses. Christmas trees were made colorful to embrace the culture of psychedelics.
Christmas sweaters became a winter fashion staple by the 1980s when handmade designs and an emphasis on excess meant the louder, the better. The most desirable holiday sweaters used embellishments like bells, pom-poms, and plenty of glitter. However, by the late 1980s and early 90s, sweaters hand-stitched with love were no longer trendy and often found their way into thrift stores.
Early 90s fashion emphasized cozy knitwear with less gaudy designs and more subtle patterns combined with the classic holiday colors of red, green, and white. Popular movies, like When Harry Met Sally and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, highlighted the comfort and style of chunky cable knits.
Starting in the counterculture of the Pacific Northwest, grunge style picked up in the mid-and late 1990s. To combat consumerism, alternative fashionistas embraced thrifting and rediscovered the hidden gems of 70s and 80s holiday sweaters.
Films like Bridget Jones’ Diary made handmade holiday wear even more popular, so consumers flocked to second-hand shops in search of the gaudier, the better.
By the 2000s, the irony of the holiday sweater was all the rage. Parties dedicated to finding the most absurd sweater were born, adding a fun flare to the average end-of-year work gathering.
By the 2010s, the trend had come full circle. Now, consumers were flocking to mainstream retailers instead of thrifting old handmade sweaters or digging through a grandparent’s closet. Target, Urban Outfitters, American Eagle, and even late-night hosts got in on the trend. In the 2010s, Jimmy Fallon began “12 Days of Christmas Sweaters,” giving away extravagant 80s-inspired knits daily.
Today, the trend is inescapable. Everyone has an ugly holiday sweater in the back of their closet – whether it’s a homemade classic, a thrifted find, or a commercialized and ironic pull-over from a box store.
