Just Say Noël

I need to talk about Christmas jumpers *rant klaxon*. Time was when a knitted, ill-fitting pullover sporting a distasteful pattern was the plight of Colin Firth and the Weasleys. Christmas jumpers were the unwanted gift at the bottom of the tree (knitted with love by your arthritic grandma) that you had to sport until she'd fallen asleep in front of It's A Wonderful Life. Ok, I'm being trite. But that's the point about Christmas jumpers; they're a cliched component of the world's most nostalgic Christmas. At least they should be.
 
Around the mid-noughties,  at least in my experience, the Christmas jumper gained its cool. Pioneered by the seasonly appearance of Seth Cohen in a 'Chrismukkah' jumper, the OC did for the Christmas jumper what Razorlight's Johnny Borrell did for white skinny jeans. Unlike white skinnies (I'm unashamed to say I had a pair), the Christmas jumper maintained its cool throughout the noughties, appearing on hipsters and the style-conscious but never catching fire with mainstream fashion.

Festive knitwear was always quietly acceptable - you could pick up a winter warmer on the high street without looking like a try hard, but the truly nostalgic numbers were left to those willing to trawl charity shops, vintage markets or eBay.

Other than an ill-advised pair of Noel Fielding-inspired cowboy boots, I've never been a big fan of vintage stores. The clothes generally smell like damp and fit even worse. But when it comes to Christmas jumpers, it's where I've always found my favourites. The jumpers (and haircuts) above were all found off the beaten track and bought for less than £20 each.

Then Primark ruined everything.

Around a year or two ago, I noticed that Primark had introduced a small range of Christmas jumpers. I single Primark out because, in the past few years, they've zoned in on the Christmas market most.

Like many other high street brands, Primark's effort was characteristically cheap and not intended to be taken seriously. They were the sort of thing you'd see on a a guy who uses 'banter' as an adjective. Fast forward to Christmas 2013 though, and Primark literally has stacks and stacks of thin, Santa-covered jumpers, designed with chino-clad meatballs in mind to wear on a Christmas jumper-themed night out. The company's website even asks 'have you got yours yet?' In 2013, the faux Christmas jumper is everywhere.

The point of this rant post isn't to tear into Primark or the other high street brands cashing in. I've nothing against fashionable clothing at an affordable price. It isn't to say that your festive jumper has to smell of turps (who am I to judge what you drink on Christmas day). My point is that the current Christmas jumper craze is taking away some of the cosy nostalgia of Christmas. So why not put a bit more thought into it and wear one that would genuinely keep you toasty on the North Pole or that you might keep for years to come. Remember, a Christmas jumper is for life, not just for this Christmas. And if you find yourself in Primark, just say 'Noël'.

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