The History Behind the Ugly Christmas Sweater

The biggest holiday fashion trend worldwide is the Ugly Christmas Sweater. Now why would someone want to wear an ugly sweater? Well the truth is, the more popular these sweaters become some of these sweaters actually become very cute and stylish.

Now when I was growing up, the Ugly Christmas Sweater was not trendy. They were so unpopular, no one in my close circles ever talked about them, So to me, they didn't exist. However, within the past couple years these sweaters have become the must have holiday fashion item. My question is, where did the popularity come from? We'll let's take a look at the history behind the Ugly Christmas Sweater trend.

Well first we need to be able to identify an Ugly Christmas Sweater. Here on the right you'll see the sweater I've been lusting over at Target. Obviously an Ugly Christmas Sweater has Christmas colors and elements on it, like a tree, snowmen or Santa.

In the United States, these sweaters have been around since the late 1800s. The first time these ugly sweaters were mass manufactured they were known as Jingle Bell Sweaters.

We all know Bill Cosby wore all his funky sweaters on the Cosby Show in the 90s. Thanks to that, he is considered to be the ugly sweater pioneer. But growing up in the 90s, I never noticed anyone really fawning over these sweaters and I don't recall seeing them in stores. Not like we do today, so how did they become so popular today?

Well the popularity behind the Ugly Christmas Sweater today is all thanks to the increase of ugly sweater parties. The first ugly sweater party was thrown in Vancouver in the early 2000s, and after that it became an annual event. Then the parties branched out all around the world. And then when hipsters started to attend these parties they wanted to dress their part. They got their ugly sweaters at stores like Goodwill and other thrift shops. Since they were the only place you can find these sweaters. The market wasn't booming yet, but that certainly changed.

But once there was an increase in these ugly sweater parties, more people wanted these sweaters. So the retailers got in on this trend, and now you can find these sweaters all over, from Target to Nordstrom, there's an ugly sweater available for anyone.

So there's a little brief history lesson behind the Ugly Christmas Sweater, it's all quite fascinating don't you think? I certainly learned something new, and I hope you did too. Until tomorrow.