1 Piece 4 Looks - Ugly Christmas Jumper edition

Not many people here realise that I absolutely do take requests for posts and videos. If there ever is something that you’d like to see my take on – 100% ask! I can’t promise that I’ll get round to it straight away, but I can promise that the idea will live rent free inside my head until eventually it materialises into something.

This is how this post came about. I got a message with a suggestion and you surely all see that this was too good not to have a go at. Given that there are all kinds of ugly Christmas jumpers out there, from the quirky-yet-cute to truly abominable, I will try to give some tips on styling these with lolita instead of just throwing some looks out there, featuring my ugliest (lovingly) of Christmas sweaters.

Look 1: Keeping it simple

| vintage sweater | Bodyline L380 skirt | offbrand cutsew, boots, and beret | MuFish tights | Angelic Pretty Twinkle Sky headbow |

The safest way to coordinate something outlandish, whether it’s an inherently lolita piece or not, is to keep things simple. Opting for neutral colours and foregoing patterns everywhere else makes the ugly jumper the main feature and the coord point that it’s intended to be. Even if you have nothing in the colours on the jumper itself, you can never go wrong with a solid black or white base for it. The simpler the styling, the higher the chance that the outfit overall might fall out of the lolita category and into just the general kawaii/inspired one, but it’s Christmas, do you really care that much as long as you get to wear your fun festive gear? Sometimes the occasion might even call for that as I wouldn’t necessarily feel out of place wearing some variation of this to the office Christmas party.

Look 2: Leaning into the colours

| vintage sweater and brooch | offbrand cutsew, shoes, and collar necklace | Wonderland Ukiyoe Lilith’s Collection skirt | Angelic Pretty Lovely Ribbon OTKs | Rose of Sharon hair clips | Tiny Passerine Creations The Duchess' Tea earrings |

A step up that still remains relatively simple is to either attempt something relatively monochrome or pick one accent colour from the jumper to work the whole coord around. Depending on what colours you’re working with, the end result could be quite fun in a way that doesn’t have to immediately look loud. Unless you want to take it there, of course. And especially if your jumper (unlike mine) uses some less than typical Christmas colours, e.g. pinks or purples. Although in this case even pulling from the green, which there is only a little of on the cardigan itself, ended up with quite a fun coord. Sticking to colours that are already in the item that’s the main point of your look helps anchor it in something safe and guaranteed to work, which might turn into a bit of a stepping stone towards bolder outfits. Especially since a lot of lolitas will start out their journey in the fashion with coords rooted in white/black/ivory before trying colourful coordinating options – this is no different.

Look 3: Pattern Clash

| vintage sweater | Violet Fane Otome Nostalgia skirt | Laura Ashley blouse | Snag Trifle tights | Hot Chocolate Designs Chocolaticas Margaret shoes | Cutie Creator white x gold headbow | offbrand hair clips | XKawaiiCutieX earrings | Candy Kitsch bracelet |

An opposite approach to keeping it simple is to lean into the loudness of your ugly Christmas jumper. The uglier the design, the more it should embolden you to really go for it. Embrace maximalism and art désordre (which is what I call cluttercore because not everything needs to be a ~core) and be the gaudiest thing around. When you throw every possible pattern at a look it just becomes intentionally too much. Of course, still pull from the general colour palette of the jumper, at least a little (at least in terms of shades/undertones), so that they all link together somehow, but beyond that – go wild and enjoy the ride. If the thought still scares you, even after you reject the lolita label in favour of embracing the Christmas spirit, why not think about a look like this as decora but with patterns rather than physical accessories? The point and the effect are pretty much the same, and accepting a label that explicitly welcomes maximalism might be what helps you release any hesitation.

Look 4: Festive All The Way

| vintage sweater | BtSSB Secret AIR MAIL from Sweet Kitty JSK and headbow | Fi.n.t. cutsew | Innocent World Origa OTKs | Angelic Pretty Twinkle Star ankle socks | Hush Puppies boots | Beholder Fashions mini hat | Trixie La Fleur Nutcracker brooch | AatP The Mouse King★Gualtiero Medal pin II | Peacockalorum wrist cuffs | Angelic Pretty British Ribbon ring | 4 Aces ring |

You could also try maximalism, but in a more streamlined version than a pure pattern clash and embrace the festive spirit in full. Lean into the theme of the pattern on your jumper or go for something more generic that is a recognisably Christmas theme, then style the whole thing like that. In this case here, even though the jumper has little to do with Nutcrackers, by leaning extra hard into styling the whole coord in a more military lolita way it still ends up working as a whole. It might require some mental gymnastics if your ugly Christmas jumper is even more novelty, e.g. themed to a specific franchise as well as the holiday, but I think that the effect would be worth the effort. Think about what sort of festive themes might match the characters on the jumper or the colour scheme of it, then work from there. Both Christmas and lolita are about having fun, so have all of the fun!


The one thing that links these various ways of coordinating ugly Christmas jumpers is that they prioritise the Christmas vibes over lolita. There is a certain degree of faffing required to make an item not made with lolita fashion in mind (usually longer, in bolder colours, a lot less soft and feminine and a lot more of a bold statement) work. Depending on what it is that you’re trying to achieve or what the occasion is, that faff may not always be worth it. So rather than sweat it that the combination is not absolutely perfect in balancing two very different looks, embrace that. If people can use the “Fuck it, it’s Christmas” excuse to indulge in other treats whilst dropping the guilt, then you can use it to have some fun with mixing your clothes without the pressure of getting it perfect for some anonymous person judging it online whose opinion you’ve never even asked for. It’s either this or dedicate the time, energy, and resources into finding that perfect ugly Christmas jumper that is lolita fashion-ready from the get go - as cuter fashions gain traction once more, this may turn out easier than you thought and especially if you have money to throw at some independent artist who knits or crochets that sort of stuff.

Just have fun and enjoy yourself this festive season.