How to Be Downright Disgusting (or Surprisingly Stylish) at Your Next Party With Ugly Sweaters
The annual tradition of choosing brightly colored sweaters for a holiday party is long out of date, but your friends or bosses may not have received the memo yet. If you’ve been invited to a party with ugly sweaters this year, here are some thoughts on how to handle it.
A brief history of ugly holiday sweaters
The festive sweater became famous in the culture of the 1950s. This was before the invention of irony in pop culture, so wearing a winter-themed sweater was not considered silly, and most sweaters were tasteful and understated. Boring, you might say.
The holiday sweater remained understated throughout the 60s and 70s, but really made its mark in the 1980s, a decade of flashy sweaters as designs got bigger and bolder.
Nobody knows when the first cool Christmas sweater party was held, but by the mid-1990s, horrible Christmas sweaters from thrift stores were ironically the subject of seasonal fashion for urban hipsters. Popularity grew, and by the 2000s, ugly sweater parties had become a well-known and established thing that white people liked .
Nowadays, ugly holiday sweaters are so culturally accepted that you can buy one of thousands of different options at any big store, from the “hilarious” mentions of Rick and Morty on uglychristmassweaters.com to this monster where you pay $ 70 for a Ford ad.
The availability and cultural acceptance of this Christmas tradition makes it meaningless. There used to be a curatorial creativity about saving an ugly sweater and a clever statement made when he wore it in public, but when you can buy it at Wal-Mart and everyone else does, the irony or comedy disappears. “Poof”.
But I still love sticky sweater-style parties: themed parties are always festive, and ugly Christmas sweaters are guaranteed to spark talk and shatter squares. (Maybe not as effective as strong rum punch, but still.) In my opinion, there are two ways to cope with the “dress code” of such a thing: overdo it or get stylish.
Too much is never too much
If you want to win the ugly sweater competition, you have to go overboard. You want an incredibly ugly sweater, something too weird for Target, and you need accessories to make things worse. Fortunately, late capitalism has you covered. See examples below.
This embroidered beaded sweater “Yeti” handmade shop Etsy TackyUgly Christmas – the loudest and disgusting piece of clothing that I have ever seen. I mean it has lights, feathers, and a stuffed animal.
This abomination “Walking Christmas Tree” from the story of Etsy Tacky Ugly Sweaters expands the definition of the word “sweater” and looks like it would physically hurt to wear it. But you’ll win the sticky sweater prize, so it’s worth it.
DuseysDesignsOnADime offers a truly terrifying barbie in the stripper designs you see below. I like it because it’s so … homemade.
These are just a few of the thousands of designs available on Etsy and elsewhere, but they’re not loud enough. You need accessories. For example, try this Christmas tree headband with lights and ornaments, or crown yourself with the king / queen of Christmas with this headband (eye makeup is optional). Then put on your Santa boots and a Christmas cape and head to the party!
Chic way
I think the strange supercomputer from 1984 WarGames put it best: “Strange game. The only winning move is not to play. “
Joshua / WOPR talked about a global thermonuclear war, but so did the ugly Christmas sweaters. You do not want to be spoiled sport, so you need something to do, but you also do not need to participate in the transaction as a whole. Fortunately, you can fully pay tribute to the festive spirit of a colorful holiday party without buying a goofy sweater that you’re going to wear exactly once.
Try something like this stylish seasonal sweater from Talbots or this Bjorn Norwiegan sweater from Icewear . Any of these will look great during all seasonal events, from buying a Christmas tree to sullen crying after drinking too much egg gogol.
If you underline these images festive flair , you will find yourself in this place and at the same time cheerful and fun.
Like all good fashion, Christmas party clothing should reflect your own style. Maybe you like to look like this ballet costume from Gold x Teal :
Or, if you’re more into the rich fashion of old white ladies, check out the Sundance Festive Charm Cardigan (floppy hat and ugg boots sold separately).
The last word …
All of the tips above assume you are living in reality, where you are going to parties on the eve of the holidays. If you, like me, plan to spend the holidays hiding from the plague, then congratulations! You don’t have to worry about holiday sweaters at all and you can just put on the same stained Stoop shirt you’ve been wearing since August.