The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(December 2019) |
Type | jumper |
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A Christmas jumper (also Christmas sweater) is a sweater themed with a Christmas or winter-style design, often worn during the festive season. They are often knitted. A more traditional approach is a roll neck (or "turtleneck") top-pulled garment. It can generally be said that embellishments such as tinsel, reindeer, or sparkles make a sweater "ugly," in terms of ugly sweaters. [1]
In the United Kingdom, Christmas jumpers became popular during the 1980s after a variety of television presenters such as Gyles Brandreth and Timmy Mallett began wearing them during the Christmas holidays. In particular, their popularity may be attributed to the influence of singers such as Andy Williams and Val Doonican, who appeared in these type of jumpers in their television Christmas specials. [2] In Ireland, The Late Late Show's host wears an extravagant jumper for the Christmas Late Late Toy Show . [3] [4] [5] [6] They are often seen as a hand-made present knitted by an elderly relative that are given as a Christmas present. [7] [8] During the 1990s and 2000s they were seen as gag gifts and fell out of favour [2] and featured as something to be embarrassed by as in the 2001 film Bridget Jones's Diary . [7] They gained camp appeal during the 2010s, [2] with online retailer Amazon reporting an increase in sales of 600% in 2011, and the trend has been followed by a number of celebrities. [9] Ugly Christmas Sweater Contests are held annually in the United States. [10]
In 2012, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph described them as "this season's must have", [8] with retailer Topman selling 34 different designs alone and reporting sales had increased 54% compared to 2011. [8] Higher end fashion labels have also produced Christmas jumpers, including Burberry and Jil Sander, [8] and even metal band Slayer released one as part of their merchandise range. [11]
The charity Save the Children runs an annual Christmas Jumper Day each year in December using the slogan "Make the world better with a sweater". It encourages people to raise money for the charity by wearing their Christmas jumpers on a specific day. [12] The New York Times reported in 2012 that a major venue for sweater sales are independent company websites, with ugly-sweater themed names. [13]
Environmental charity Hubbub reported in 2019 that up to 95% of Christmas jumpers are made using plastic, and that two-fifths of them are worn only once. A spokeswoman for Hubbub described the Christmas jumper as "one of the worst examples of fast fashion" and urged people to "swap, buy second-hand or re-wear" rather than buy new. [14]
A sweater or pullover, also called a jersey or jumper, is a piece of clothing, typically with long sleeves, made of knitted or crocheted material that covers the upper part of the body. When sleeveless, the garment is often called a slipover, tank top, or sweater vest.
A cardigan is a type of knitted sweater that has an open front, and is worn like a jacket.
Ryan Tubridy is an Irish broadcaster. His broadcasting career with RTÉ spanned over two decades, where he presented many shows on radio and television, most notably The Late Late Show on RTÉ One from 2009 to 2023. Other shows he presented include RTÉ 2fm's The Full Irish (2004–2009) and Tubridy (2010–2015), RTÉ One's Tubridy Tonight (2004–2009), RTÉ Radio One's The Tubridy Show (2005–2010) and The Ryan Tubridy Show (2015–2023). He also hosted the Rose of Tralee contest on two occasions and worked for BBC Radio. In January 2024 he is scheduled to join Virgin Radio UK in London to present its mid-morning programme.
Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States. It traditionally marks the start of the Christmas shopping season in the United States. Many stores offer highly promoted sales at discounted prices and often open early, sometimes as early as midnight or even on Thanksgiving. Some stores' sales continue to Monday or for a week.
Gyles Daubeney Brandreth is a British broadcaster, writer and former politician. He has worked as a television presenter, theatre producer, journalist, author and publisher.
The Aran jumper is a style of jumper that takes its name from the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. A traditional Aran Jumper usually is off-white in colour, with cable patterns on the body and sleeves. Originally the jumpers were knitted using unscoured wool that retained its natural oils (lanolin) which made the garments water-resistant and meant they remained wearable even when wet.
A guernsey, or gansey, is a seaman's knitted woollen sweater, similar to a jersey, which originated in the Channel Island of the same name, sometimes known as a knit-frock in Cornwall, especially Polperro.
Argos Limited is a British catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and formerly in the Republic of Ireland, acquired by Sainsbury's supermarket chain in 2016. It was established in November 1972 and is named after the Greek city of Argos. The company trades both through physical shops and online, with 29 million yearly shop customers, and nearly a billion online visitors per annum. It has also franchised overseas to countries such as China.
Primark Stores Limited is an Irish multinational fast fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with outlets across Europe and in the United States. The original Penneys brand is not used outside of Ireland because it is owned elsewhere by American retailer J. C. Penney.
Perry Edwin Ellis was an American fashion designer who founded his eponymous sportswear house in the mid-1970s. Ellis' influence on the fashion industry has been called "a huge turning point" because he introduced new patterns and proportions to a market which was dominated by more traditional men's clothing.
Christmas in Ireland is the annual festival which marks the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus and its related observances, but also incorporates some pre-Christian customs. These customs range from the traditional food and drink consumed, decorations and rituals, as well as more modern phenomena such as the Christmas day swim and annual television and radio events. The modern Irish Christmas has become more similar to that of the British and American festive period, with emphasis on gift buying and parties.
Ivy League is a style of men's dress, popular during the late 1950s in the Northeastern United States, and said to have originated on college campuses, particularly those of the Ivy League. It was the predecessor to the preppy style of dress.
The Late Late Toy Show is an annual, special edition of the Irish chat show The Late Late Show. Airing annually on RTÉ One near the end of November or early December to coincide with the holiday shopping season, the Toy Show showcases the popular toys of the year, as presented by the host and demonstrated by various children on-stage, along with appearances by celebrity guests.
Kenzo is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1970 by Japanese designer Kenzo Takada and owned by parent company LVMH.
Frida Giannini is an Italian fashion designer. She was the creative director of the Italian fashion house Gucci from 2006 to 2014.
The 2010s were defined by hipster fashion, athleisure, a revival of austerity-era period pieces and alternative fashions, swag-inspired outfits, 1980s-style neon streetwear, and unisex 1990s-style elements influenced by grunge and skater fashions. The later years of the decade witnessed the growing importance in the western world of social media influencers paid to promote fast fashion brands on Pinterest and Instagram.
Away colours or road colours are a choice of coloured clothing used in team sports. They are required to be worn by one team during a game between teams that would otherwise wear the same colours as each other, or similar colours. This change prevents confusion for officials, players, and spectators. In most sports, it is the visiting or road team that must change.
Tipsy Elves is a holiday-themed apparel company. It sells holiday sweaters and other holiday-themed items through its website and other online vendors, and donates part of each sale to charity. In December 2013, the company's owners appeared on the US television show Shark Tank, and received $100,000 in funding to help the company move into the retail market.
Christmas Jumper Day is an annual fundraising campaign in the UK and Ireland organised by charity Save the Children in the UK. On a specific day in December, people are encouraged to make the world better with a sweater and raise funds for Save the Children by wearing a Christmas jumper and making a suggested donation of £2 (€2) for school children.
UglyChristmasSweater.com is an American holiday apparel company based in Michigan that specializes in ugly Christmas sweaters both online and through retail locations. The company is owned by brothers Fred and Mark Hajjar, headquartered in Walled Lake, Michigan, has 48 employees and a warehouse that spans 42,000 feet.