How to do Christmas Jumper Day without buying naff knitwear
Is it just me, or have the festive knits started making their way out of hibernation earlier this year? You know the type – the comedy ones with unnecessary tinsel or sequins. This Thursday is the official Christmas Jumper Day, so expect to see even more of them. But take a beat before you put one on yourself.
“Festive knits are like Marmite: either you love them or hate them,” Susan Bender Whitfield, a creative director and stylist, says. “I’ve never seen a chic one; they’re usually made of substandard yarns or fabrics and look cheap. Any knits that have a Christmas tree, Santa Claus, snowflakes, reindeer, shiny baubles, or Merry Christmas on them will not work in my wardrobe.”
Not only do they hit a stylistic bum note, they’re often terrible for the environment. “One in three adults under 35 buys a new novelty jumper every year, leaving countless discarded jumpers to pile up in rather un festive polyester landfills,” says the sustainable fashion expert Kelly Eastwood.
The solution? Both agree that “a timeless option” is the way to go: one that you’ll happily wear year after year.
Razzle Dazzle
Instead, Whitfield recommends “sticking to knits with solid colours, metallic threads or delicate embellishments or feathers around the neck or sleeves”. She has her eye on an oversized Dries Van Noten metallic knit. “It ticks all my festive needs and will happily live in my wardrobe beyond the festive season.”
A low-key shimmer is similarly the festive choice of Alexandra Fullerton, founder of shopping platform My3Words. “I always choose subtle sparkle over blatantly ‘festive’ pieces as they’re far more versatile.” She recently styled a silver metallic Aligne cardigan with black cropped trousers and metallic flats, but also suggests it “with shorts and sandals in mid-summer.” Black works with this kind of knit: try the Lorine metallic crew-neck knit from Hush, or Haikure’s knockout silver studded cardigan.
Consider a festive trimming, such as Boden’s pretty tulle collar number. Beware of sequins though: Eastwood points out “1.7 million sequinned clothing items and accessories end up in landfills each year—never to biodegrade”.
Silver V-neck cardigan, £99, Aligne
Tulle party jumper, £98, Boden
Claus Red
Nod to the season with a dash of red. Despite being a colour-phobe most of the year, I’ve been enjoying compliments (it warms up the face) whilst wearing my Anya Hindmarch for Uniqlo cashmere knit this month. The designer Cath Kidston, who admits she’s a knitwear addict, agrees with me. “A red jumper for Christmas really is the way to do it; I have a tomato red cashmere jumper from Uniqlo that I wear every year.” Sezane’s sexy Gaspard cardigan comes in red, and I love Navy Grey’s Heirloom funnel-neck.
Gaspard cardigan, £95, Sezane
The midlife style influencer Marie Louise Pumfrey has also just bought “jolly berry red cashmere jumper from Madeleine Thompson with festive ivy green details around the neckline and cuffs - and it’s on sale”.
Joshua cashmere jumper, £252, Madeleine Thompson
Fair Isle
Pulling out a Fair Isle can become a Christmas tradition. “Wearing the same beautiful piece year to the next imbues it with incredibly special memories and makes it part of that familial heritage,” says Ruth Alice Rands, founder of the British knitwear brand Herd. Her Fleetwood cardigan is made from British Bluefaced Leicester sheep wool (£595). Fellow indie brand Oubas has a beautiful, limited edition blush fair isle made from British wool (£345).
Oubas Fair Isle wool sweater, £345, Gather and See
Rent a knit
Want to indulge in some silly season dressing, but don’t want to commit? “Renting Christmas jumpers is a sustainable and stylish way to celebrate the festive season without contributing to unnecessary waste,” says Eshita Kabra-Davies, founder of the rental platform By Rotation. Princess Diana’s ‘sheep’ jumper by Warm & Wonderful costs £20 per day (byrotation). Or, shop in your local charity shop: Save the Children even has a handy online edit (shop.savethechildren).
‘Diana Edition’ Cotton Sheep Sweater, £142, Warm and Wonderful
