Ah, the Christmas sweater, with its jingle bells, gaudy glitter and
images of Santa, snowmen, elves and reindeer herds.Embraced in the
1980s by moms and grandmas, ridiculed in the 1990s by fashionistas,
celebrated the last several years at ugly sweater theme parties galore,
it’s entering new territory.This season, it’s serving as inspiration
to high-end fashion designers and retailers.For women, Burberry
featured a camel tan made-in-Italy cashmere sweater with a toy soldier
on its front. (Price: $1,295.)Phillip Lim’s offering: A sweater adorned
with giant snowflakes for $475.Similarly festive sweaters are showing
up at Neiman Marcus (in the form of a cream color cashmere sweater with
a gray penguin on the front), Nordstrom (a cropped zip up reindeer
sweater) and Bergdorf Goodman has been showcasing a gray snowflake
cardigan.The selection for men is less extensive, but high-end holiday
sweaters are available for them, too.“It’s a new phenomenon,” said Jon
Jordan, an image consultant and the style editor for WDIV-TV (Channel
4).But there were other hurdles to overcome Discount White satin sweatheart Beaded Applique a-line wedding dresses party dress
“Somehow, designers embraced the notion” of the holiday sweater “but
improved the results. Maybe it was a case of them instead fighting it,
they just decided to elevate it.Black evening dresses are a specialty
and are known for their style and elegance and the best choice for any
party Tulle Satin Sweetheart Ruched Bodice Beaded Jewel A-line Wedding Dress.”Most
fashion trends tend to trickle down — designer-influenced dresses,
handbags, shoes, jewelry and more show up fast at fashion retailers such
as H&M, Forever 21 and Target almost as soon as they’re off the
runway. But Christmas sweaters worked their way from the bottom
up.Christmas sweaters may be the subject of several books and Pinterest
boards. They may be sized to fit wine bottles, dogs as well as people.
They may have been saluted by thousands Friday on National Ugly
Christmas Sweater Day. But there’s no denying that they come from more
humble beginnings.“The trend started with grandma and mom,” said
Christos Garkinos, a former metro Detroiter who is co-owner of Decades, a
Los Angeles boutique that specializes in high-end consignment and
vintage couture and was last year the subject of a Bravo network reality
show. “Fashion takes from everything.”
The first thing to know about holiday sweaters, according to their
legions of fans, is that they make people happy.“You really can’t be in
a bad mood when you have on an ugly sweater because everybody looks at
you or they give you the thumbs up or they smile,” said 43-year-old
Pamela Lumetta of Shelby Township.“They can be so crazy and creative,”
said Lumetta, who won the ugly sweater portion of November’s Hideous
Holiday Sweater Run in Milford. “I just bought an inexpensive sweater”
from the Salvation Army, “knowing that I was going to glue a lot of
things on it.“I started with the tree. I did the bow and I started
putting little pom poms around it. I had icicles hanging from my arms.
There were ornaments hanging off the bottom.”Until recently, Jennifer
Matthews didn’t quite understand the joy associated with wearing an
ugly holiday sweater. “I will wear little Christmas earrings. I’ve got
little wreaths on my ears right now. Christmas sweaters,” she said,
“always seemed a little over the top to me.”But when organizers of a
sing-a-long she attended earlier this holiday season suggested
participants wear Christmas sweaters, she headed to a thrift store and
bought a green V-neck sweater dotted with images of Santa golfing.“It
was kind of fun to have a reason to sort of celebrate everything that’s
kitschy about Christmas,” Matthews said.“It’s all about the past and
what you remember as a kid, but at the same time it’s the celebration
of the time of year. My mom liked to wear the Christmas sweaters. I had
family friends that were really into that whole sweatshirt appliqué.
So there was a lot of that stuff. I remember from Thanksgiving on, it
just seemed like it was glitter central in school because we had to be
sparkly and stuff. To me, that’s what made me laugh.”Because they come
from so many different sources — mom’s closet, thrift stores, discount
stores, and, it turns out, Neiman Marcus — it’s difficult to know
exactly how many Christmas sweaters, ugly or otherwise, are sold every
year. But it’s clear their popularity grows and grows and grows.
Among the offerings: a sweatshirt bearing a giant Santa face,
another featuring an image of a female elf on a stripper pole,watching A
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a black sweater decorated with a felt cutout Santa, snowflakes and a
Christmas tree.“We’re one of the only sites that have light-up
sweaters,” said Hajjar. “We have three different styles. How else can
you attract more attention than with a sweater that blinks? We’re proud
of that!”“Obviously, 40,000 people aren’t buying sweaters, but there’s
such an interest in looking at them,” she said, adding that last year
her sales topped 5,000 sweaters.And now the world of high-end and
designer fashion is joining the party.Designer sweaters are much more
subdued, some might say more tasteful,than the over-the-top traditional
sweaters so many people celebrate.The new sweaters, said Jordan, allow
people to be festive without “resigning themselves to looking
horrendous.”Said Gregg Andrews, fashion creative director for Nordstrom
stores: “They normally have just one large graphic design on them as
opposed to ... villages and Santas and reindeer and bells. ... They’re
not designed for, ‘Oh, I’m going to wear this on Christmas eve or wear
it to a holiday party at the office.’ They’re really designed to be worn
every day.“They’re not intended to be a flashback to the gaudy
sweaters of decades gone by,” said Andrews. “Do they still say holiday?
Yes they do.”Just like Christmas lights — some people prefer
conservative white lights while others prefer multi-colored lights that
blink and flash — but in the end, both varieties light up the season.
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