Trend of the moment: It can only be the ‘ugly’ Christmas sweater

Some of notjust clothing”™s topical Christmas sweaters salute from left, top, naturalist David Attenborough, congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Wordle; from left, bottom, “The Snowman,” Queen Elizabeth II, cryptocurrency. Courtesy notjust clothing.

“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.”