In 2024, Holiday Sweaters Are More Than a Punchline
GQ RecommendsThink beyond those corny, disposable-feeling knits.By Reed NelsonNovember 22, 2024Save this storySaveSave this storySaveAll products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.When you hear the phrase “holiday sweaters,” of course your mind goes to the bad kind. We’re familiar with them too: cheap yarn, deliberately ugly, functionally disposable, and often emblazoned with dumb catchphrases, seasonal mascots and, every so often, an inexplicable electronic device.This is a real shame, because it distracts from the fact that there really are a ton of good festive sweaters out there—great ones, even. Ones that you’ll be thrilled to rediscover every year, that still exude holiday spirit, but don’t beat you over the head with it or make a mockery of the pursuit. We’re talking about wild-style Fair Isles and patchwork cardigans and jacquard masterpieces, all of them destined to shine in any holiday environment and then long into the winter that follows, whether or not that one groundhog decides he can handle his own shadow.I might sound like the Norman Rockwell “Freedom of Speech” meme guy right now, rising to declare “Holiday sweaters are good, actually,” but I’m OK with that, because holiday sweaters are good, actually. As long as they’re the right ones. After all, the fastest way to emit some holiday cheer is by letting your fit do it for you.1/19StüssyRollneck Fair Isle Sweater$150 StüssyNormally, a classic fair isle pattern deployed this deftly would be the star of a holiday sweater. But in this particular instance, that wide, uneven rollneck steals the show.2/19GapPlaid V-Neck Sweater$90 $53 GapIt's hard to get this much sweater for under $60, but Gap's comeback has been defined by pieces like this—vintage-tinged, super comfortable, vast sizing, and versatile as all get out.3/19KapitalFair Isle Wool-Blend Sweater$680 Mr PorterKnitted from a seven-gauge wool blend, this joint might cost a few bones, but it also features them—a trademark Kapital look.4/19Noahx PUMA Fair Isle Sweater$200 NoahWhen it comes to Fair Isles, we love one with an overwhelmingly seasonal color palette, but you can also just let the pattern itself make the point.
All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
When you hear the phrase “holiday sweaters,” of course your mind goes to the bad kind. We’re familiar with them too: cheap yarn, deliberately ugly, functionally disposable, and often emblazoned with dumb catchphrases, seasonal mascots and, every so often, an inexplicable electronic device.
This is a real shame, because it distracts from the fact that there really are a ton of good festive sweaters out there—great ones, even. Ones that you’ll be thrilled to rediscover every year, that still exude holiday spirit, but don’t beat you over the head with it or make a mockery of the pursuit. We’re talking about wild-style Fair Isles and patchwork cardigans and jacquard masterpieces, all of them destined to shine in any holiday environment and then long into the winter that follows, whether or not that one groundhog decides he can handle his own shadow.
I might sound like the Norman Rockwell “Freedom of Speech” meme guy right now, rising to declare “Holiday sweaters are good, actually,” but I’m OK with that, because holiday sweaters are good, actually. As long as they’re the right ones. After all, the fastest way to emit some holiday cheer is by letting your fit do it for you.
