Ugly Christmas Sweaters

The Ugly Christmas Sweater trend has taken off around the world!  But if you ask someone in Australia, they'll call them Christmas jumpers. Same goes for the U.K.  No matter the lingo, the tacky holiday knits are loved on both sides of the pond. People in in the USA and Canada have been celebrating the holiday season with ugly Christmas sweater parties for years, but now the Brits are jumping on the bandwagon along with the folks 'down under'. The trend really took off in the UK in 2009, when google searches for 'ugly Christmas jumpers' went through roof. Each year since, the demand for the tacky knits has grown in the UK, with demand in 2012 hitting all time highs. The graph below shows interest in 'ugly Christmas jumpers' in the UK from 2004 - 2012. Explosive growth! ... continue reading ⇒

How to Start an Online Business - Researching Trends In hindsight, it looks like launching an ugly Christmas sweater company in 2008 was a no-brainer. Looking back now, Google search for the product shows exponential growth since 2008.  Consumer demand for the niche garments was an all time high during the 2012 holiday season, and the market demand is forecast to have continued growth both in the United States as well as Northern Europe and Australia.   Here's the google trends report for the term 'ugly Christmas sweaters' from January 2008 - January 2013.  This chart illustrates the explosive growth in interest in ugly Christmas Sweaters. But, back in 2008 there was no crystal ball to the future, and the market needed to be tested. I'm getting ahead of myself t... continue reading ⇒

Rock Bands Wearing Ugly Christmas Sweaters How do you know that Ugly Christmas sweaters are reached the pinnacle of hipster cool?  They've been embraced by rock bands across the country. Hard to believe these knits were once 'your momas sweater'. They're clearly hip now. Nothing matronly about them. They've arrived in the rock world and look awesome.  Tegan and Sara's not-so-tacky Christmas Sweaters I love Tegan and Sara's sweaters at the 98.7 FM's Ugly Christmas sweater party at the Historic Hollywood Towers. That 1950's vintage reindeer sweater totally rocks. photo: www.alterthepress.com Tegan and Sara 98.7 Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Performance American Idol Kris Allen Rock and Ugly Christmas Sweater  Kris Allen got into the spirit of things befo... continue reading ⇒

Penguins are making ugly Christmas sweaters cuter then ever.      Christmas themed sweaters with adorable penguins are taking the 'ugly' out of the 'ugly Christmas sweater'. Though there's little danger of the wildly popular Ugly Christmas Sweater Party trend morphing to a 'cute' themed party, the adorable penguin has made its way onto holiday themed clothing in a big way. photo: Amazon Penguin Christmas Sweater from Zatori Take a look at penguin sweater in the 2012 FedEx save 10% at Christmas commercial.   Mr. Customer is regretting his penguin sweater purchase, but we all know it's a chick magnet.      photo: YouTube FedEx TV Ad "Catch" Let's face it, penguins are hot items right now.  There are penguin themed children's... continue reading ⇒

The USPS Ugly Christmas Sweater  An ugly Christmas sweater is featured in a post-holiday USPS commercial, signaling that the once-hipster fad is officially mainstream. It wasn't long ago, back in 2009, when I did an 'Ugly Christmas Sweater Fashion Show' on The View and the New York audience clearly didn't get the joke. Back in 2009, the kitschy trend hadn't quite reached the east coast, and the New York audience (many wearing holiday knits) reacted to the word 'ugly' as a possible insult to their fashion sense. Fast forward to 2013 and the 'Ugly' Christmas Sweater phenomenon has swept the country and even made it's way into holiday commercials. Ugly sweaters are "in" and it's OK to us all to poke a bit of fun at the busy holiday patterned knits. In the USPS ugly Christ... continue reading ⇒

Judging an Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest It's a funny thing about being an expert on ugly Christmas sweaters - Wherever I go, I now get asked all kinds of questions about the business. No problem! I love to hear everyone's ideas and inquiries. Today's question was a serious one though.  Someone at my doctor's office was upset over the judging at their ugly Christmas sweater themed office party, and wanted to know my opinion.  Apparently the grand prize of 'Most Ugly' was given to someone who wore a black trash bag with a bow. That's it. Just a bag and a bow. Seems lame to me too. The questions posed to me were: Shouldn't the winner HAVE to wear a knit? Shouldn't it HAVE to be a sweater? It seems nothing's easy now days. Not even judging an ugly Christmas sweater conte... continue reading ⇒

 Wear ugly Christmas sweaters for a great cause! Stand Up to Cancer - SU2C What's better than wearing ugly sweaters? How about wearing them to raise money to fight cancer. Sounds good to us! The folks at SU2C (Stand Up to Cancer) have embraced ugly Christmas sweaters and are asking all you festive people out there to not only wear your ugly sweaters ONCE, but to wear them all month long (from 1-31 days).   Get your friends, family, and coworkers to sponsor you for every day you wear an ugly sweater, and raise money for SU2C's cutting-edge cancer research. Sounds like a great excuse to wear ugly Christmas sweaters all month long! Check out the SU2C site where you'll see some awesome ugly Christmas sweater pictures (loaned from authors of the hilarious book Rock Your Ugl... continue reading ⇒

 Mens Ugly Christmas Sweaters   Just who ISN'T going to an ugly Christmas sweater party this year? It seems every Christmas party this year has an 'Ugly Christmas Sweater Party' or 'Tacky Christmas Sweater Party' theme - which is awesome for all of us who have a boat full of festive ugly sweaters in our closets. But what about your man? If you're looking for mens ugly Christmas sweaters you have lots of options - you just need to know where to look! Mens ugly Christmas sweater Wacky Santa My Ugly Christmas Sweater, Inc.(www.MyUglyChristmasSweater.com) sells thousands of mens and womens ugly Christmas sweaters. Since all the 'real' Christmas sweaters were sold in the womens section of the stores and tagged with womens sizing,  My Ugly Christmas Sweater has ... continue reading ⇒

 Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Ideas When you're planning your 2012 holiday party, make it a theme party this year and ask your guests to wear an 'Ugly Christmas Sweater'. Ugly sweater themed parties have been growing in popularity over the last ten years. Adding a fun theme is an easy way to spice up your holiday gathering with some horrible festive knits.  Although most holiday sweaters were manufactured for women, these knits are unisex when it comes to themed parties! Retro sweaters from the 80s and 90s that have chunky over-the-top holiday scenes are most sought after. The more ridiculous the better when it comes to Christmas sweaters. Party revelers add lights, ornaments, garland and jingle bells to already colorful sweaters, and make a statement when it comes to ... continue reading ⇒