Ugly Christmas sweaters are big with the 

hipster crowd and shops like H&M, Target, 

Macy’s, Walmart, and Nordstrom are making 

the big bucks by selling ironic sweaters with 

the perfect amount of humor and hideousness. 

Online retailers are blowing up with sites like 

UglyChristmasSweater.com and TipsyElves.

com raising the bar. The trend has even crossed 

international borders and is popular in the 

U.K. and amongst Europeans as well. Ugly 

Christmas sweater parties are popping up in 

office gatherings, in school holiday parties, at 

family get togethers and even at frat and sorority 

houses. What began as a gag has transformed 

into a multi million-dollar industry complete 

in celebrity endorsements. High profile icons 

like Britney Spears and Beyoncé sell their own 

holiday themed apparel and Star Wars, Marvel, 

Disney, and other characters have been licensed 

for use on the festive sweaters. All four major 

American sports franchises, the NFL, NBA, 

NHL, and MLB have even jumped on the 

bandwagon with official team logos and athlete 

names knitted into the garments. There is even a 

National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day! Whether 

you think they are funny, ironic, cute, or just 

plain hideous, this trend isn’t going anywhere. 

This is a look that is fun for the whole family, 

from grandparents, to parents, kids, babies, and 

even your furry friends. Holiday pet apparel is a 

huge market with sweaters in every pattern and 

color and even matching hats and boots. It may 

seem contradictory to purchase clothing that is 

considered to be ugly, but tis the season.

18-19 PcolaStyle - Ugly Christmas Sweaters.indd   2

11/25/18   11:12 AM