FashBlog.com

By Brandi M. Seals

The holiday season is fast approaching and I am counting the days until I see the first sight of the dreaded Christmas sweaters. You know what I am talking about - the hideous bright sweaters generally adorned with snow balls and images of Santa Claus or snow men.

I do not know how or when the Christmas sweater got its start. I remember them from my childhood. So I know they have been being produced since the early 80s. I wonder who first got the idea to make one of the tacky concoctions. It probably started in some home ec course somewhere. The kids were told to make something for the holidays and someone made it as a joke. The only problem was that some how, some where, a designer saw it and replicated the hideous sweater. That is when it started springing up everywhere.

My other theory may be a bit more plausible. Since I do not know when the ugly Christmas sweater dates from, I cannot be sure, but I think it was inspired by Bill Cosby. Stay with me on this one for a moment. I remember the sweaters being big in the 80s. Know what else was big in the 80s? Bill Cosby. The Cosby Show was going strong and Bill Cosby became known for his overwhelming bright and colorful sweaters. I think the Christmas sweater is some sort of spin off from those bright and tacky sweaters. Think about it, if people were willing to accept Bill's tacky sweaters, it is not that hard to make the jump to accepting Christmas sweaters. The problem is that not everyone liked them.

There was a while where people actually gave Christmas sweaters as gifts. I imaging it was kind of like getting a fruit cake for a present. The person doing the giving looked on expectantly, waiting for a reaction from the person giving the gift. The first thought that went through the receiver's head is something like "what am I going to do with that," but she cannot act on that. She had to grin and bare it. If the receiver was really good, she could manage to say thank you and note how beautiful the giant red nosed reindeer looks.

Now, thankfully, people do not have to do that. Or, at least I have not seen anyone give a Christmas sweater in at least 10 years. Yet, somehow there is always someone wearing one. I guess some people do like them but I am not really sure why. A few years ago, I thought it was like some sort of mystery. I had not seen the sweaters in the stores for years and years and yet people would show up wearing new ones.

I now know the truth. Stores still sell them in moderation. You can walk the aisles in your favorite store and never see one, but if you go back off the aisle in the section designed for aging women, I bet you will find at least one version of the Christmas sweater. That is how people replenish their stock. I guess they have not caught on to the fact that they are not really very popular or all that attractive.

If you own a Christmas sweater, do yourself a favor and throw it away. You will not miss it. Christmas sweaters have a way of aging people since they seem so popular with the 70 years and older crowd. If you are 70, go ahead and wear it. You get a pass from me saying it is okay. Everyone else should know better.

Anyone out there who knows someone that wears their Christmas sweater every year, you could have a little talk with them, but I have a better idea. This holiday season, why not buy them a gorgeous sweater to replace the tacky one? Find a gorgeous red sweater and give it to the person as a gift. Red sweaters are very festive and they can be worn more than once a year. Most importantly, they generally are not tacky.

In case you have missed it, the goal is the rid the world of the dreaded Christmas sweater. Do whatever you can to make it go away.