This special holiday newsletter is donning its own ugly sweater to celebrate a tradition as iconic as twinkling lights, sugar-dusted cookies, and fashion choices so bold, even Rudolph would blush. Ugly Christmas sweaters weren’t born as punchlines, but the data shows us when they became one!
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Holiday sweaters first became popular in the 1950s–1970s, fueled by home knitting, post-war leisure time, and televised Christmas specials. What we now call “ugly” was once just… festive.
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In the 1980s and 1990s, loud holiday sweaters exploded on TV shows like The Cosby Show and Family Matters, baking exaggerated knits into collective memory.
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The modern ugly sweater party trend sprang up in the early 2000s, when rocking the most over-the-top, eye-blinding sweater became the name of the festive game.
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Today, ugly Christmas sweaters are a multi-billion-dollar global industry, with millions sold each year — many featuring lights, music, or designs that defy logic.
Wishing you a season so bright it could outshine the flashiest sweater, and a New Year decked in joy! We sincerely appreciate you and look forward to staying connected for another great year.
