In celebration of the 75th day of school, Garfield held a "Ugly Sweater" Contest. On Monday December 14, 2015, our staff dressed in their "ugliest sweaters". This contest was a fun way to display sweaters that are rarely used. Our winners were Rosie Marquez and Alejandro Oropeza!
The ugly Christmas sweater, once a musty Goodwill gem worn ironically, can now be found on pop stars, supermodels, and in presidential candidate stores. Not only is just about everybody in on the deliberately ugly holiday wear game, it’s clear now that no matter how obnoxious the trope gets, the ugly Christmas sweater is never going away.
Let’s look at the facts: Google searches for ugly Christmas sweaters are at an all-time high in the U.S. and Canada. Drake is selling a “Hotline Bling” sweater off his salty single of the same name. Supermodels Kate Moss, Karen Elson, and Poppy Delevingne have designed sweaters to benefit “Save the Children”. You can buy any number of Star Wars themed ugly sweaters, including one with a Storm Trooper in reindeer antlers on it.
And last, but certainly not least, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, and Hillary Clinton are selling campaign-related ugly sweaters. When the most out-of-touch-with-cool people on the planet are in on the ironic joke of ugly holiday sweaters, and have monetized them no less, you can be sure that they have reached critical mass, are no longer ironic, are beyond cool (if they ever were), and not in the cooler than cool sense. In the not-cool one. It’s hard to say exactly.
So here we are: An ugly holiday sweater is now mainstream, but wearing it knowing it’s mainstream could still be ironic. It’s ugly, but it’s also not ugly. It’s no longer cool, which means maybe it could be cool once more. It’s enough to make your head spin. But then that makes it just like any other trend your grandma can participate in now; just like anything else we all wear now. So slip on your skinny jeans, your “ugly” sweater, and your chunky-framed eyeglasses this season and get out there and spread the cheer—everyone else is.