Ugly Sweaters - YouLookFab Forum

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Ugly Sweaters

bridgie

Veteran

I have not seen any holiday sweaters here this holiday season. You know the ones I mean, mostly red and green with sequins ribbons, bows, animal prints, etc, etc.

Do any of you still have them or have you discarded them? Do you wear them? And did you have the feeling that yours was not as ugly as all the others?

This is all in fun. Please make any comment you wish concerning "Ugly Sweaters." Include pics if you like.

Dressing

48 replies

Latest reply was from Joy

Chris987

Veteran

I wish I still had a bright red oversized pullover with a huge teddie bear in great detail appliquéd on the back and some velvet ribbons on the front. I wore it when my niece and nephew were quite young and they ( and I) loved bringing it out for family Christmas gatherings. I just got this cat Santa sweatshirt today at a great price but I don't think it quite qualifies as a full blown ugly Christmas sweater

Karen Scott Petite Embellished Cat Holiday Sweatshirt

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kecisme

Well, I don't know if it matters that I live on the Gulf coast, but my boss, and many of our customers, have worn quite "detailed" Christmas sweaters this season.

bridgie

Veteran

Chris, This is crazy (in a good way). After I posted I clicked finds briefly, saw the cat sweatshirt, but didn't click to see who had posted. I just left the computer as I needed to take some laundry out of the dryer. Anyway, I loved it and thought I would love to have it, but I think it is too late to think about getting it this year.

You and I do have similar taste in clothes. Remember the nutmeg coat we both selected from the NAS sale in the summer. I still haven't worn mine but I will.

Thanks for posting. Enjoy the sweatshirt. No, this doesn't qualify as ugly because it is too cute!

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

I looked for my fleecy sweatshirt with the Christmas tree appliqué for my son to wear for ugly sweater day at school, but must’ve given it away. I offered him one with lots of sequins and things, but this is what he chose from my closet.

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always trying

Veteran

Those Christmas sweaters became "ugly" and fruitcake became a joke a while back. I am sure this all started because some celebrity on TV started it. someone said it was Johnny Carson who bad mouthed fruit cakes. Maybe the guy on What Not to Wear tossed them out and called them ugly.

bridgie

Veteran

kecisme, thanks for posting. I think your location would have a bearing on what you choose to wear. I lived in Jacksonville, Fla for 20 years and I wore sweatshirts with flamingos, mermaids and seahorses often. Don't wear them so much here in North Carolina, but when I do, someone usually remarks I am wearing a Florida shirt. `

bridgie

Veteran

always trying, your post cracked me up. But, you are so right, I can see Clinton tossing stuff in that trash can right now. I don't think many of us here would have agreed to let go all our clothes, but on the other hand for $5000.00 to spend on new ones I might, if I had the opportunity.

Johnny Carson, nor anyone else can make me dislike a good fruitcake.

rachylou

Veteran

I want one. I saw this girl in 7-11 with a ‘horrible cheap looking Holiday Ugly Sweater’ with white boots - and my goodness did she look fantastic !

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

I never watched that show. Contestants had to give up their entire wardrobe, permanently, in exchange for $5k of new clothing? That’s 100 x 50–not a lot either way you stack it (50 items @ $100 each or 100 things @ $50).
I know you can do math. That was just me figuring it out.

JAileen

Veteran

I like fruitcake, too.

I have several beautiful traditional Norwegian wool sweaters that I rescued from the thrift store. My son wanted to borrow one, because he was going to an ugly sweater party. I told him they weren't ugly and he couldn't borrow one. I wore the middle one last week.

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bridgie

Veteran

rachylou, if anybody can do it you can do it better. lol. I hope you find one. Did you check your closet or clothes you have stored away somewhere?

bridgie

Veteran

fashiontern, Yes, the people chosen had to give up their entire wardrobes for the $5000.00, and what they purchased had to be approved by Stacy and Clinton. I don't believe I ever saw anybody have as many as 50 items, and it included shoes and handbags. So, it was more like 20 items at $250.00 each! Interesting and amusing.

bridgie

Veteran

JALLeen, and I love all three of your sweaters. And to think you found them at a thrift store. Absolutely amazing.

I am still chuckling at your son wanting to wear one to an ugly sweater party. I can understand why you said no. I know you didn't have to think anytime before your reply. Enjoy those sweaters and thanks for posting.

Diana

Veteran

I'm in jaileen's camp. The concept of ugly sweaters kind of offends me. It annoys me that the default Christmas sweater now seems to be "ugly." No thank you.

Chris, I like the cat santa sweatshirt! We should have more cute, fun, or pretty holiday sweaters like that imo.

Cardiff girl

Veteran

Being in the UK we don’t use the term ugly sweaters so when my daughters school was having a Christmas jumper day and her new from American class mate said ,wow I didn’t know you had ugly jumper day here ,he was verbally lept upon by his outraged classmates all defending their lovely Christmas jumper s!Poor boy he d already tripped up on the pants/trouser thing.It s got to be quite a big trend here in the uk and there s a lot of choice from the ,shall say we say ,loud to the subtle interpretations .

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Cardiff girl, I’m laughing. Poor kid! We are divided by a common language

JAileen, isn’t it amazing that they’re big enough to even think of swapping clothes? Living where you do, I bet your son has sweaters of his own to wear.

Wearing holiday clothes or other conspicuous things can be uncomfortable. Calling what they’re putting on “ugly” even if they actually find it attractive helps people get over that fear, by disarming any critics in their heads before going out—nothing anyone says will be worse, so they can handle it, and wearing the item becomes fun. Sounds good to me!

Sisi

Veteran

I wish I had a Christmas sweater but I haven't any - they have never been very popular here in Italy. But I find them funny! ! Have to fix this wardrobe hole. In the meanwhile I will enjoy them thanks to this thread.

lyn67

Veteran

No offense here (Diana and Jaileen) please!:-) I may be wrong but I aknowledged about "ugly sweaters" in the Bridget Jone's Diary first. They are not ugly per se but it was more than hillarious to see Colin wearing one of these and keeping it serious- so I would change ugly to juvenile instead and is all good-making bit of a parody. And besides the cat santa or norvegian/fair isle style are not at all juvenille, rather art!!:-)

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Glory

Veteran

I am seriously considering buying Christmas sweaters for the whole family - just for fun. They are a thing here and even the schools usually designate a sweater day!

Christina F.

Veteran

I don't think they're ugly per se, but I seem to have a thing for Reindeer (critters in general, really).

The Boden striped top may have to go back. I forgot I had the first sweater, since it was packed away and I never tracked what I owned till this year. Three items seems like overkill even to me! The Boden is the only unworn item. Cute though!

I also have an "uglier" heavy sweater with one of those Nordic Christmas patterns, that I thrifted. It's only cold enough to use it when I'm at my in-laws' place for Christmas. They live in a colder place than me or my side of the family, and they keep indoor temps on the frosty side.

Reindeer Sweater

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The Christmas Breton

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JuniperGreen

Veteran

Kohl's has a pretty great array of ridiculous holiday sweaters, and I've also had some luck trawling the aisles of TJ Maxx/Marshalls!

approprio

(website)

Veteran

On cakes and jumpers (may not make sense to anyone outside the British Isles)

JAileen, your Norwegian knits are beautiful. They have no place in an ugly sweater event. I personally think ugly sweaters should always be Star Wars themed.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Approprio, lol, that’s what I gave a nephew for Christmas last year—a Star Wars “ugly Christmas sweater”!

Christina posted about reindeer sweaters and this cake up in my “memories”, so I think I’m meant to post about it: my kid in his Hannah heyday, wearing a reindeer sweater from Hannah Andersson. He was outgrowing it just as he was developing the attitude for it.

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Tina

I used to have a lovely "collectible" Christmas cardigan: black with tree, star, etc., appliques and sparkly things. I also had an even better one that was white, aqua, pink and had some kind of baubles appliqued with pale colored sequins and beads. It was the 90s, and I wore them every December. I don't think I have any photos -- but NO ONE called those ugly sweaters then. They made me happy.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Lyn67, I’ve never seen that movie, so didn’t know the reference. Thanks! I explained above how I thought the term came to be applied to even very nice clothing. But now it’s occurred to me that there might actually be referents for which it is appropriate—the mass-produced acrylic sweaters from the 70s with prints many generations removed from actual Norwegian sweaters. Are those what they’re talking about in Bridget Jones?

Joy

Veteran

I found a work of art sweater a few years ago at a thrift store in case I needed such a sweater. It has a scene with a shepherd and a bunch of sheep knitted in. I have bought others at the thrift store but all were borrowed and not returned.

Runcarla

Veteran

Well, I've got an APB out for Shriners fruitcake! Can't find it anywhere! *Cry*. Though I'm a baking fiend, I don't do fruitcake. No one in the house eats it - except me. I'll pick a piece of fruitcake over all the other treats available and usually consume a Shriners red box (3 cakes) over the holidays!

bridgie

Veteran

Diana, Thanks for posting. It is too bad that all Christmas and or Holiday Sweaters have fallen under "ugly". Most of them are just too cute and fun to be called ugly. In my opinion.

Cardiff girl, Thanks for posting. Poor boy. Had a lot to learn. I bet your daughter helped him by gently explaining differences in word meanings in different countries. I am of an advanced age and it has been since reading YLF that I heard a sweater or blouse called "jumper".

Christina F, I love all three of those reindeer sweaters. Maybe you will decide to keep the third one also. Don't know how anyone could call a sweet face of a reindeer ugly!

rachylou

Veteran

I don’t have anything like it. It was Coca-Cola red and white with Atari reindeer!

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