The unstoppable rise of the Christmas jumper

The novelty garment has fallen in and out of fashion over the past 70 years

Colin Firth in a Christmas jumper alongside Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones' Diary
'Knitwear historians' will see 2001's Bridget Jones' Diary as a 'turning point'
(Image credit: Collection Christophel © Miramax / Universal/ Alamy)

A novelty Christmas jumper is as much a feature of the office Christmas party as injudicious snogging and reckless misuse of the photocopier.

"Obnoxious and tacky" in the eyes of some, but undeniably "kind of wholesome", said CNN, the garment has had its ups and downs over history.

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  Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.