Ugly Office Sweaters

Our friend Thomas, from CityDictionary.com, is sporting a seriously festive Ugly Office Sweater. It’s got it all: ribbons, bows, kittens, trees & kittens.

My favorite thing about this picture is that Thomas’ co-worker, Colleen, has short sleeves on, so clearly this wasn’t taken in the middle of the holiday season. It’s Christmas in June! What a delightful concept.

Like us, the Raleigh News & Observer cares deeply about your office sweater. Unlike us, they think that ugly just ain’t gonna cut it.

While I think a ruffled short sleeved sweater is adorable, I don’t think it’s practical as your office sweater. It’s not really going to keep you warm and, more importantly, it’s just too cute to keep in your cubicle over the weekend. Let’s face it - the office drawer is no place for attractive clothing. Nobody puts baby in a corner.

What do you think? Should you try to make a fashion statement with your office sweater or is it okay to just give up fashion for function? Better yet, don’t just tell us what you think - show us!

Okay, I’m going to pretend this photo was just submitted and that I haven’t sat on it for 2 months…but seriously has your sweater gone away for the summer? Mine hasn’t! Overzealous air-conditioning keeps it hanging around. Summer office fashion staples include both sandals AND sweaters so there’s a decent chance Bob might keep his sweater at the ready for intemperate office climes.

While many of you, like the lovely couple pictured above, attended Ugly Sweater Parties this holiday season (oh, and by the way, please send us your photos!), just because the calendar has flipped to 2009 is no reason to abandon that festive spirit.

Most of us don’t have a paid holiday from now until Memorial Day. That’s an awful long time and all work and no play not only makes us dull, it makes us cranky. Ugly Office Sweater parties are a great and easy way to add a little fun into the office.

If you run into some HR trouble trying to organize your special day, why not just defy authority and go ahead and wear your ugliest sweater to work. To our knowledge, very few places of employment have dress codes that specifically prohibit ugly clothing.

As this reader demonstrates, Ugly Sweaters aren’t just for Christmas. So, as 2009 looms, think about how you can expand your ugly sweater wardrobe to include more holidays. I’m dreaming of an office world that includes embroidered Valentine’s Day hearts, appliqued leprechauns and sparkling American flags. It’s a beautiful dream, don’t you think?

While it was exciting for the editors of this site to meet and get autographed copies of Christian Lander’s book “Stuff White People Like”, it’s even more exciting to see something ugly sweater related get the official white people stamp of approval! That’s right, Ugly Sweater Parties is on the list at #118! Says Lander:

During the month of December, white people face an especially difficult challenge. This is the year when parties and drinking are most appropriate, but the most obvious theme of Christmas must be avoided. This is because Christmas forces Christianity upon others, and though their ancestors had no problem with this activity, modern white people are quite disgusted by the idea. Hanukkah parties are fun, but a bit too exclusive, and a Kwanzaa Party requires an enormous amount of physical, mental, and ironic labor that can only be done by the most elite of white people.

White people needed to find a party that was completely without religious affiliations, but still connected enough to the idea of Christmas that they could serve eggnog and hot toddies. The answer: ugly sweater parties.

But remember, ugly sweaters aren’t just for Christmas parties. You should also have one at your office. And you should take a picture of it. And send it to us

While the Ugly Office Sweater is all about practicality, its close cousin, the Ugly Christmas Sweater, is all about the party. So, in the spirit of the season, every once in awhile, we’ll leave our cubicles, let our hair down and celebrate the glory that is the Ugly Christmas Sweater.

While the example above doesn’t have embroidery or appliques, it does feature a pun and a kitty. That’s good enough for us!

Today’s office dweller is sporting a very neutral gray fleece in a very neutral room, aside from the bright post-its that is! I have a fleece very similar in the color to the pink post-it. Perhaps I should start coordinating my sweater with my office supplies. I may have to raid the supply drawers and rethink my cream-colored office sweater!

Maybe we should have called this blog QuitePlainOfficeFleece.com. Looks like plain is the way to go in this particular office for fear of clashing with the delightfully green walls!

When you can’t make it to the thrift store check out this ebay shop. A little more than $5 but a good option for the time-crunched or thrift-store-adverse crowd.