This year, you do not need to look far to find ugly Christmas sweaters. In 2013, headlines included Mena Suvari in a photo for her annual holiday card wearing an ugly Christmas sweater.
In Asbury Park, New Jersey, there are public gatherings that involve wearing one, according to New Jersey Magazine . The Boston Herald reports that ugly Christmas sweaters are being used for a good cause. In November, Boston locals gathered for a 5K run to raise money for Save the Children’s Make the World Better while wearing their ugliest Christmas sweaters.
Citing them as part of holiday parties, pub crawls, and fun runs, CBS Local Detroit interviewed merchant Fred Hajjar of West Bloomfield about the ugly Christmas sweaters trend.
“For hipsters, it was their thing a couple of years ago. Now everybody loves them. Traffic on Google, for instance, has tripled for searches for ugly Christmas sweaters in the past two years.”
Merchants are getting rich from ugly Christmas sweaters, and this involves vintage, handmade, commercially made, and fringe market sweaters. The Daily Times in Farmington, New Mexico, highlighted a local woman named Joanna Klepac who will make you any ugly Christmas sweater that you want.
ABC News reports that a Tampa, Florida, mother went viral over Thanksgiving week for her ugly Christmas sweaters. Deb Rottum sells her hideous Christmas sweaters at her eBay store Deb’s Handmade Ugly Tacky Christmas Sweaters .
Bloomberg Businessweek published an article in November about the big business of ugly Christmas sweaters. They also highlight private retailers such as the vintage ugly Christmas sweater website UltimateUglyChristmas and Tipsy Elves .
“Ugly Christmas sweaters are hot for retailers big and small. Wal-Mart, Target, and Forever21 all have rolled out their own versions. Macy’s, Nordstrom, and SkyMall are among more than 20 retailers selling DIY Ugly Christmas Sweater Kits (about $30).”
According to Total Sports Pro , one major project for ugly sports Christmas sweaters 2014 has come to fruition. The idea of combining sports team logos and ugly sweaters was promoted by Michael Lewis via Forever Collectibles. The sweaters are now available at the NBA Store and Clark Toys .
Other completed projects are the Foo Fighters’ ugly Christmas sweaters inspired by heavy metal band Emperor. The Foo Fighter Christmas sweaters come in red or green, and feature an angry gingerbread Metal Man surrounded by five-pointed stars and deer skulls.
The ugly Christmas sweater industry is also known for charity work. For example, the My Ugly Christmas Sweater website recently posted a press release stating that they would send 500 hideous Christmas sweaters to troops serving overseas. The donation is part of their ongoing Sweaters4Troops campaign.
If you do not get a chance to wear your ugly Christmas sweater at an event, you can always celebrate National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day . According to the website, it will be held on December 12 this year, and will focus on donating clothing to those in need.
[All photos are from the referenced links]
