Holiday Sweaters: Ugly or Not?


It’s that time of year... Ugly Sweater time!  Seems the stores are all packed with them purely due to the popularity of this now widespread theme party.  Well, last night we celebrated ours at an “Ugly Sweater” bar crawl through Old Ellicott City.  The outfits were truly hideous and certainly nothing that we would ever be wearing in real life. 


However, the whole thing got me thinking.  There were actually pieces within these outfits that were cute, even trendy.  I even wore my Scottie dog turtleneck to work.  Being an elementary school teacher, I figured I’m expected to wear festive ridiculousness and nobody would think twice about it.  This decision also comes after seeing a photo on Instagram by another popular blogger who shall go unnamed, posting a photo of herself and her husband in their best holiday chic.  Thing is, I honestly thought she was posting a picture of themselves at their own “ugly sweater” event until I read all of the comments about how lovely they looked and how people wished they could get their own husbands to dress like that!  Really?!  

So, I’ve come to decide that the definition of ugly is changing when it comes to holiday attire.  The decision started with this “ugly” sweater posted by Bella over at Dateless in Dallas in her own ugly sweater post.  I thought, gee, I actually think that’s cute.  I mean, I’d seriously wear that with a cute pair of jeans and ballet flats, some red lipstick and hair loosely curled.  Yes, I can definitely see that as part of my actual wardrobe.  
So I started to search.  Could I find more ugliness that I actually want to wear in real life?  Why yes, yes I could.  In fact, none of these sweaters are meant to be ugly as far as I know, but could absolutely have been worthy of the bar crawl.  


  1. Reindeer sweater from Windsor.  Perfectly paired with a black leather mini and sparkling jewels, this crazy holiday pattern goes from ugly to classy in a jif. 
  2. Lauren Conrad foil dot sweater from Kohls.  Look at us liking huge Minnie Mouse style polka dot.  I’d wear this with dark jeans and metallic gold stilettos, and you’ve got yourself some casual sexiness.
  3. Snowflake sweater from H&M.  Ok, maybe it’s not that crazy, but there was a time not too long ago when a fashionable gal would not be caught dead with a huge graphic plastered on the front of her shirt.
  4. Let’s not forget the men.  I like this look (Kohl’s).  I think it’s cute.  It’s quite similar to the one that unnamed blogger’s husband wore, but much simpler.  Trust me.  I can safely say that there is no way in heck that my fiance would wear this right now, but when the style becomes more widespread and he actually wants one, I won’t hate it. ;) 
  5. and 6.  Nordic prints are back.  Nordic prints are also what I would typically think of when picturing the traditional Christmas sweater.  These are from Forever 21 and Old Navy and could be considered a bit ugly on their own.  But with the right pair of skinnies and fashionable boots, I can wear these styles the whole winter through.  

I hope everyone is enjoying the season and their own ugly sweater events!  But don’t throw those uglies away.  You never know when they’ll be stylish again after all! 


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1 comment

  1. I think some are kinda crazy looking, but there really are a lot of cute ones!

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