“These days the ugly Christmas sweater is a subgenre of knitwear and an art form in itself: transcendently, ridiculously ironic; frosted with tinsel, sparkle, snowmen and other Santa-fied clichés; the gift of a giggle for us all. It is an expression of taste so bad it is great, and never more necessary than at a fraught time (in the year, in history) when emotions run high.”
So writes Vanessa Friedman, fashion director and chief fashion critic for The New York Times, about a seasonal phenomenon beloved of holiday movies (“National Lampoon”™s Christmas Vacation,” “Bridget Jones”™ Diary”) and cheeky fashionistas (well, mostly cheeky fashionistos).
But so outré is the ugly Christmas sweater that it has become a trendy way to note some of the biggest headliners of our time, everyone from the late Queen Elizabeth II to naturalist David Attenborough to congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, from Wordle to “The Snowman” to cryptocurrency. The United Kingdom company notjust clothing, which delivers to the United States, has all these and more. Call them topical Christmas sweaters.
Said company co-founder Matt Clarke: “We”™re back with our pop-culture holiday sweats that take the ugly out of ugly sweaters. This year we”™re celebrating the heroes of the year on knits that are sure to make you a conversation starter at office parties. There”™s something for everyone from royalists, puzzle solvers, politics lovers right through to friends of the earth and entrepreneurs. So get involved and grab a sweater that gives back to society with 50% of profits from every sale being donated to charity.”
