Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette. In today's video, we're getting in the
festive spirit as we ask the question: "Should you wear a Christmas sweater?"
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I'm going to guess that if you're watching this video, it's probably because of one thing --
[scene from "Elf"] Manager: "It's 10AM. Santa's coming to --"
Buddy: "Santa!"
Woah, chill out, Buddy! What I was actually thinking is that
you're watching this video to figure out if you should wear a Christmas sweater or not.
In recent years, trends around Christmas sweaters and, especially, ugly Christmas sweaters has been
rising rapidly. This can largely be attributed to the fact that there's now a National
Ugly Sweater Day in the United States. This takes place every third Friday in December,
and there's even websites out there that are dedicated to making the
ugliest Christmas sweaters possible. Boy, thank goodness we are not sponsored. And, of course,
this is not just in the United States as the trend of ugly Christmas sweaters
has caught on around the world. So, we must ask the question: "Does a Christmas sweater
have a place in a classic men's wardrobe?" First up, in true Gentleman's Gazette fashion,
let's dive into what a Christmas sweater actually is. Is it purely a novelty item,
or can these sweaters actually be stylish? Different varieties exist, but in order to be
classified as a Christmas sweater, it has to have certain characteristics. It needs to be a soft,
often knitted garment, it should directly reference the holiday season in some way,
and it doesn't have to be a pullover, as button-up holiday cardigan sweaters exist as well. Now,
holiday-themed clothing doesn't have to stop there as in recent years really everything goes.
But, I think you'll agree with me, it's more rare to see someone wearing a full Christmas tree suit
out-and-about, and it's more common for people to have owned a Christmas sweater at one point. Now,
at this point, you're probably already guessing that we here at the Gentleman's Gazette are a
bunch of Grinches, which, yeah, I get that. I think we'd all rather be Scrooges. I mean,
after all, the guy has pretty great taste in his pajamas. All jokes aside, it isn't lost on us,
the fact that Christmas sweaters are meant to be fun. But, it also can't be denied that they come
with their own unique set of issues. First and foremost, the vast majority of Christmas
sweaters just don't look good. Plain and simple, the reality is these sweaters are meant to be
tacky and ugly. Even the ever-stylish Colin Firth can't hide his disdain from being forced to wear
this gaudy piece in "Bridget Jones's Diary." After all, I think he would have rather worn an outfit
like he did in the movie "Kingsman," which is much more suitable for a gentleman. So, much better.
Also, keep in mind that Christmas sweaters are typically seen as fast fashion garments.
Retailers often mass manufacture these quickly and cheaply, so you don't really
have to take an economic hit by buying them. You can enjoy them for a season, and then,
when they wear out, you can throw them away. And because retailers are trying to cut costs,
these cheap materials really make the sweater look cheap,
too. There have been many exposés on the dangers of fast fashion,
but it's safe to say that these are made in mass in order to be thrown out. What this
ultimately leads to is Christmas sweaters not being financially or environmentally friendly.
We've spoken many times about building a sustainable wardrobe, so, as you might guess,
we don't advocate buying things that are going to end up in the trash. And as we've alluded to,
Christmas sweaters end up being rather expensive. If they only last for a season
and you go to a Christmas party that calls for an ugly sweater every season,
you're buying a new one every year. So, even if you're only spending $20-$25 on a sweater,
that repeats year after year after you wear out this low-quality item. So,
now, after we've explored the pitfalls of Christmas sweaters,
now let's look at the actual question: "Can they be stylish?" The first thing
to take note of is that there are actually high-quality Christmas sweaters available.
Even though you're going to have to wade through a sea of lower-quality garments, there are good ones
out there. These range from really nice staples to really high-end luxury items. For example, if you
wanted to spend four figures on an ugly Christmas sweater, look at this one from Dolce & Gabbana,
or for a few hundred dollars, you could pick up Ralph Lauren's iconic teddy bear sweater, and for
a little bit less, there are cashmere options from Naadam or Gobi. As you can see, you can
find Christmas sweaters in the luxury category. Oftentimes, these luxury sweaters are made with
cashmere and other premium materials. And if you want to check out our various videos on cashmere,
you can take a look at those here. One thing to keep in mind here is that we
wouldn't recommend buying these items for their high price tag and their low
versatility. For example, the Ralph Lauren teddy sweater is one that's become iconic,
but it's something that we wouldn't recommend. It's just not something that
we see as a particularly stylish garment. So, we would say to exercise caution here,
don't get wrapped up in Christmas hype. A better option here would be to focus on stylish,
Nordic knits. Instead of bombarding the sweater with a bunch of colors and styles, the Nordic
sweater really keeps things simple. You'll notice that these sweaters don't rely on gimmicks,
but rather a simple repeating pattern that looks great. Throughout these garments, you'll really
only see two, maybe three colors in use. Instead of the mainstream ugly Christmas sweaters' use
of multiple colors and flashing lights and beer pong cups - okay - the Nordic sweater results in a
refined, well-balanced design, which is something that invites Intrigue without being distracting.
Also, closely related to the Nordic sweater, you can look for vintage-inspired designs.
And although the dawn of the Christmas sweater really began around the 1980s,
you could see that a love for knitwear in the holiday season started well before then.
Luckily, with the 21st century's love of vintage designs you might be able to find
a few of these lying around. However, it might be easier and more hygienic
to go look for ones that take this design language in a modern example. A surefire way
to get great results is to look at the Fair Isle design. Similar to the Nordic sweater,
the Fair Isle sweater uses the same repeating geometric designs and
minimal colors to really make a great sweater. And although Fair Isle sweaters are not made
specifically to be Christmas sweaters, it's easy to see that if you can pick one up with
some Christmas coloring, it'll work great. Another benefit of the Fair Isle sweater is
the ability to wear a tie. Unlike the Nordic sweaters that we talked about previously,
it's very common to find a Fair Isle sweater in a v-neck design - whether that's a v-neck
sweater or a sweater vest. They also make them in cardigans and waistcoats. Whether
you prefer an open collar with an ascot or a closed button-up collar with a tie,
the Fair Isle sweater with a v-neck design will be a perfect fit. Overall,
owning a Fair Isle sweater in a v-neck design will give you lots of versatility. This will
keep you from having to buy multiple Christmas sweaters. Of course, it's entirely possible
that you get a Christmas sweater that has great meaning to you. Take Preston, for instance. As
you might know he loves superheroes and comic books, so getting him a Christmas sweater that
mixes superheroes with a holiday theme would be a perfect gift that would mean a lot to him.
So, in these cases, it's likely known that you're a fan of things like sports or superheroes,
and so owning a sweater like this might make perfect sense for you and to the people who
know you. Now, this is a bit of a curveball, but I would argue that if these sweaters are
done in a tasteful way, and people know that it's something that you're into,
it can be a stylish piece. After all, confidence is the backbone of style,
so if you're wearing something that you know and love, you're likely to feel great.
[Incoming message from Preston Schlueter.]
Preston: This example is definitely true in principle, but I wouldn't wear that sweater.
Naturally, these sweaters are quite casual, so they should
be worn with casual attire, such as denim jeans and sneakers or boots.
Just like Preston is showing here. Overall, if you wear this type of Christmas sweater,
your goal should be to look after it well and really enjoy it. And who knows, it could become
your signature piece. We come back to the main question of today's video: "Should you wear a
Christmas sweater?" In a nutshell, the answer is yes, but not just any holiday sweater will
do. And it really should go without saying that we don't endorse anything of the tacky variety.
Also, keep in mind that, if you are an adherent to classic style, Christmas sweaters that you
look for should be ones of good quality that will last a lifetime. You really shouldn't look at it
as a cheap pickup and throw-away garment. If you invest in one Christmas sweater of good quality,
odds are you're gonna end up pulling that out year after year. And at the same time,
if you don't like Christmas sweaters, you don't have to buy one. After all, really the only time
where I could see you being asked to wear one would be to some certain event that had that as
part of the attire. Just don't forget that if you don't like the typical Christmas sweater,
there are other options, such as the Fair Isle and Nordic sweater that accomplished the similar
goal stylishly. Also, add in some accessories like gloves and a scarf from Fort Belvedere,
and you'll really tie things together. Plus, there are also alternative options
to the typical holiday sweater as you might have cardigans or other pullovers that are
in Christmas and holiday colors. These pieces will overall be a better investment for your
wardrobe as they'll be more versatile than just wearing them in the holiday season. So,
as we wrap up our video on Christmas sweaters, we will throw it back to our viewers,
where do you stand on Christmas sweaters? How many do you have? What brands do you
buy? Let us know down in the comments below. In today's video, I'm wearing an outfit that
you will likely catch me in this holiday season. I'm wearing a chunky green cardigan sweater. It's
from J.Crew. It's something that I like to wear around the house when it gets a little chilly.
Underneath, I'm wearing a simple white Oxford cloth button-down shirt this is made-to-measure
by Proper Cloth. For my trousers, I'm wearing a pair of gray flannel trousers. This is a staple I
think that most guys should have in their wardrobe to pull out during the cold months. On my feet are
a pair of Chelsea boots in dark brown suede, and they're from TLB Mallorca. I'm also wearing a pair
of our Fort Belvedere gray, shadow-stripe socks. If you want to check out these socks or any other
Fort Belvedere products for the fall-winter season, you can check out our shop here.
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