There was a time when Christmas jumpers were considered cringe-inducing embarrassments. How we guffawed at Colin Firth in his reindeer sweater in Bridget Jones’s Diary! Thankfully, those dark days are over and Christmas jumpers are now perfectly acceptable attire for fashionable festive folk.
High fashion and the high street have embraced the Christmas jumper with gusto – making 2011 a vintage year for festive knitwear. Markus Lupfer’s glittery reindeer sweater dress is a fine example of the new breed of stylish seasonal sweaters. On a smaller budget, Scary Canary have a nice line of novelty jumpers and some super-snuggly collared cardigans by Pretty Vacant.
These jumpers are not the place for subtlety; if you are going to wear one, you need to commit fully to the festive theme. Try to wear your jumper with an air of nonchalance, a manner that declares: “Yeah, my jumper is awesome, no big deal.”
What makes a true Christmas jumper? Firstly, they are more than just an item of clothing; they are a state of mind. Wearing one requires jollity and cheer, sulking in a Christmas jumper is simply not allowed. The colour palette is straightforward: red, white, green and blue. There are some inferior grey and black interpretations on the market – avoid at all cost. Christmas jumpers are about spreading cheer, shades of grey may well be tasteful but they are not fit for this purpose.
The other key features are as follows:
1) Reindeer: Clothes featuring frolicking animals are always good. A pair of cheery reindeer scampering across your jumper is a sure fire way to up your Christmas quotient. Scandinavian style reindeer are all well and good, but the ultimate bounty has to be a sweater featuring a cartoon Rudolph, finished with a red pom-pom nose.
2) Snowflakes: No winter wonderland pullover is complete without a scattering of snowflakes. They can be big or small, just make sure that there are lots of them.
3) Christmas trees: Reindeer are skittish creatures, so it helps to give them somewhere to hide. You can opt for the stylish and traditional Scandinavian look tree or go all out with a “statement” tree given pride of place as the centrepiece of your sweater. As with Rudolph jumpers, pom-pom decorations and texturised tinsel greatly enhance the effect.
4) Ski motifs: The Christmas jumper began as après ski attire, so it is only fitting that it pays homage to these roots. Interlocking skis make an intriguing criss-cross pattern. For authentic eighties kitsch, seek a jumper with a jaunty pattern made up of little men skiing.
5) Extra points for hand-knit: You don’t have to knit your own; you can get a friendly granny to do it for you! Slightly wonky antlers or an asymmetric snowflake are all part of the Christmas jumper spirit.
From left to right: Reindeer sweater: £50.00 Topshop, Markus Lupfer Sequin deer dress: £258 Austique, Pretty Vacant Shawl Cardigan: £59.00 Joy.
Main image via Chris_J's flickr.