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Christmas jumper

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Christmas jumper
An example of a 1980s Christmas jumper
Typejumper

A Christmas jumper (British English, Hiberno-English and Australian English) or Christmas sweater (North American English), also ugly sweater for their over-the-top designs, is a sweater themed with a Christmas or winter design, often worn during the festive season. These elaborately figured sweaters are more often knitted than crocheted.[1] A more traditional approach is a roll neck (or "turtleneck") top-pulled garment. Embellishments such as tinsel, reindeer, or sparkles are considered to make such a sweater "ugly".[2]

History

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In the United Kingdom, Christmas jumpers became popular during the 1980s after a variety of television presenters such as Gyles Brandreth and Timmy Mallett began wearing them during the Christmas holidays. In particular, their popularity may be attributed to the influence of singers such as Andy Williams and Val Doonican, who appeared in these types of jumpers in their television Christmas specials.[3] In Ireland, The Late Late Show's host wears an extravagant jumper for the Christmas Late Late Toy Show.[4][5][6][7] They are often seen as a hand-made present knitted by an elderly relative that are given as a Christmas present.[8][9] During the 1990s and 2000s they were seen as gag gifts and fell out of favour[3] and featured as something to be embarrassed by as in the 2001 film Bridget Jones's Diary.[8]

During the early 2000s, the modern Ugly Christmas Sweater phenomenon emerged in North America as an ironic fashion trend celebrating intentionally gaudy, nostalgic, or humorous holiday attire. Several media accounts have credited Vancouver-area Ugly Christmas Sweater parties organized by Chris Boyd and Jordan Birch with helping popularize the modern ugly Christmas sweater trend.[10][11] The first party was held in 2002 in Coquitlam, British Columbia, and later expanded to Vancouver's Commodore Ballroom, where annual gatherings attracted approximately 1,000 attendees.[12][13]

The popularity of ugly sweater parties reflected broader cultural interests in nostalgia, retro fashion, and irony. Participants often sourced sweaters from thrift stores or family collections, transforming garments that had previously been viewed as outdated or unfashionable into a form of holiday celebration. By the late 2000s, ugly Christmas sweater parties, contests, charity events, and themed gatherings had become increasingly common across North America.

The resurgence of Christmas sweaters also led to increased commercialization. By the early 2010s, major retailers began producing sweaters intentionally designed to appear humorous, kitschy, or extravagant rather than traditional holiday knitwear. The trend expanded into workplaces, schools, bar crawls, and community events, while specialty companies dedicated to novelty holiday apparel emerged to meet growing consumer demand.

They gained camp appeal during the 2010s,[3] with online retailer Amazon reporting an increase in sales of 600% in 2011, and the trend has been followed by a number of celebrities.[14] Ugly Christmas Sweater Contests are held annually in the United States.[15]

Christmas jumpers and T-shirts in a British supermarket, 2016

In 2012, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph described them as "this season's must have",[9] with retailer Topman selling 34 different designs alone and reporting sales had increased 54% compared to 2011.[9] Higher end fashion labels have also produced Christmas jumpers, including Burberry and Jil Sander,[9] and even metal band Slayer released one as part of their merchandise range.[16]

The charity Save the Children runs an annual Christmas Jumper Day each year in December using the slogan "Make the world better with a sweater". It encourages people to raise money for the charity by wearing their Christmas jumpers on a specific day.[17] The New York Times reported in 2012 that a major venue for sweater sales are independent company websites, with ugly-sweater themed names.[18]

Environmental charity Hubbub reported in 2019 that up to 95% of Christmas jumpers are made using plastic, and that two-fifths of them are worn only once. A spokeswoman for Hubbub described the Christmas jumper as "one of the worst examples of fast fashion" and urged people to "swap, buy second-hand or re-wear" rather than buy new.[19]

References

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  1. ^ Door, Marjan (10 April 2025). "Knitting or crocheting? What's right for you?". Knitters Lounge. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  2. ^ "Just Whose Idea Was the Ugly Christmas Sweater?".
  3. ^ a b c Epstein, Robert (16 December 2012). "Bring Modern: Christmas jumpers". The Independent. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  4. ^ Sweeney, Ken (29 November 2011). "Tubridy in stitches after Toy Show jumpers labelled a crime". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  5. ^ "Party through the pain". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. 14 December 2006. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
  6. ^ Murphy, Claire (23 November 2009). "Toy show jumper dilemma for Ryan". Evening Herald. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 27 November 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  7. ^ Byrne, Gay (13 February 2010). "The chameleon of Montrose". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Archived from the original on 18 November 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
  8. ^ a b Hickman, Leo (14 December 2012). "Show us your Christmas jumper – for Save the Children". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  9. ^ a b c d Cumming, Ed (13 December 2012). "How Christmas jumpers came in from the cold". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  10. ^ Proctor, Jason (8 December 2022). "How celebrating the ugly Christmas sweater went from a B.C. house party to a global phenomenon".
  11. ^ "'A short history of the (ugly) Christmas sweater' available now on Fox Nation". Fox News. 5 December 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  12. ^ "How Ugly Christmas Sweaters Went From Vancouver Party To Worldwide Phenomenon". HuffPost. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  13. ^ "Two Tri-Cities guys and two ugly Christmas sweaters starts worldwide event | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  14. ^ "The big Christmas jumper comeback". The Daily Mirror. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  15. ^ "SLIDESHOW: FOX13 News Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest". WHBQ-TV. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  16. ^ "Slayer's new merch includes ugly Christmas jumper". NME. 21 November 2012. Archived from the original on 27 November 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  17. ^ Gripper, Ann (14 December 2012). "#XmasJumperDay: UK wears its Christmas jumpers in aid of Save The Children". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  18. ^ Guy Trebay (16 December 2012). "Bad Taste, All in Fun". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  19. ^ "Most Christmas jumpers contain plastic, environmental charity warns". BBC. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
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