Oh, the ugly Christmas sweaters are frightful but delightful
‘Tis the season to pull on your ugly Christmas sweater. And the tackier, the better.
Ugly Christmas sweaters, in all their gaudy glory, have become chic holiday apparel. There’s even a day dedicated to them, which is today, the third Friday of December.
Photo courtesy of Jacob Durila
Photo courtesy of Jacob Durila
Jacob Durila shows off one of the many ugly Christmas sweaters he has created.
“Over the past few years, it’s become a cultural thing, a staple you have to have for Christmas,” said Jacob Durila, 21, of Claysville, who has made more than two dozen ugly Christmas sweaters in recent years.
So far this Christmas season, the Robert Morris University student has sold eight of his garish knit creations.
Ugly holiday sweater gatherings, too, are becoming a tradition.
Newlyweds Dan and Ashley Tonini have attended ugly Christmas sweater parties – where attendees compete to wear their most outrageously bad knitwear – for the past seven years.
Matt Ricciardi and Alyssa Heffern of Columbus, Ohio, attended the ugly Christmas sweater rehearsal dinner hosted by Dan and Ashley Tonini before their nuptials. The Toninis, graduates of California University of Pennsylvania, wanted to hold a festive holiday event.
The couple held an ugly Christmas sweater contest for their bridesmaids and groomsmen during their rehearsal dinner Dec. 1, and presented winner Emilee Demuth of Hermitage with a gift card for her awful seasonal pullover.
“It was a fun way for everyone to feel comfortable at the rehearsal dinner and celebrate Christmas a little, and not have to get dressed up,” said Ashley Tonini. “Everyone had a good time with it.”
Retailers have turned ugly Christmas sweaters into big business, and stores from Urban Outfitter and Macy’s to Target and Walmart offer kitschy sweaters adorned with light-up Christmas trees and googly-eyed Rudolphs.
Goodwill Industries, too, has seized on the ghastly garments’ popularity.
“Probably about six or seven years ago, we noticed people walking through the doors asking if we had any ugly sweaters on the racks,” said David Tobiczyk, vice president of marketing and development at Goodwill.
Goodwill stores started stocking up on Christmas sweaters throughout the year so they would have an ample supply in December.
Leah Lucas, left, and Samantha Garrett, employees of Goodwill in Washington, display and model some of the sweaters on the store’s ugly sweater rack. The store has to work hard to keep up with demand.
“We start the day after Christmas and save for the next year,” said Janet Ammons, manager of the Goodwill store in Washington. “The first year we did it, we started (collecting sweaters) in July because we thought we’d have plenty, but within the first week of putting them out, they were gone.”
Christie Campbell of North Franklin Township picked up an ugly Christmas sweater craft box at a local department store.
If you’re looking for something more quirky, online stores like myuglychristmassweater.com offer four elves crossing Abbey Road like the Beatles, cats shooting laser beams from their eyes, and naughty snowmen.
Durila, however, prefers do-it-yourself ugly Christmas sweaters to store-bought ones.
He scavenges yard sales, thrift shops and discount stores for sweaters and supplies – tinsel, beads, ornaments, bells.
“If it’s a Christmas decoration, I’ve probably got it in one of my bins,” said Durila.
He and three friends are vying for the coveted title of “ugliest Christmas sweater” in the Pittsburgh Ugliest Sweater Contest sponsored by Elite Bar Crawls, and the winner will be announced Dec. 24.
Photo courtesy of Elite Bar Crawls
Courtesy of Elite Bar Crawls
Jacob Durila of Claysville, second from left, made sweaters for an ugly Christmas sweater competition in Pittsburgh. He and his friends, from left, Anthony Salinas, Alex Schaffner and Josh McCoy are competing in the event, sponsored by national party promoter Elite Bar Crawls.
There is no widely accepted story about the origin of the ugly Christmas sweater, but its popularity has soared since hipsters, with their appreciation for retro items – think record players – started wearing Clark Griswold-like emblazoned sweaters once relegated to the closet. In recent years, people of all ages have embraced the ugly sweater.
“I think there’s something nostalgic about them,” said Durila. “(Ugly sweaters) used to be considered really nice sweaters when people bought them. They weren’t considered ugly. Now, they’re being re-created into something fun. It’s a fun way for people to connect with the past and have a good time and celebrate Christmas.”
Hillary Dean of Charleroi and Scott Barber of Monongahela sported ugly Christmas sweaters at the rehearsal dinner held the day before the wedding of Dan and Ashley Tonini. The newlyweds, who have attended ugly Christmas sweater parties for years, decided to host a seasonally appropriate rehearsal event.
At Jefferson Avenue United Methodist Church in Washington, members of the congregation wore ugly sweaters to a recent service, then attended a brunch and ugly Christmas sweater contest. The pastor, Ross Pryor, sported a light-up reindeer sweater.
“Everybody was excited, and it felt festive,” said Jeanie Waters, the church’s administrative assistant and mastermind behind the event, who noted attendance exceeded turnout for the church’s popular Soup Sunday competition. “A lot of people, young and old, participated. It brought people together. Ugly sweaters used to be ugly, but now, they’re actually cute.”