The Ugly Sweater Party That Wasn’t

Last weekend, I went to a French ugly sweater party in an ugly sweater and discovered that most people were not actually wearing ugly sweaters.  I’m not sure if I've ever even been to one in the U.S., but I know they’re pretty popular around Christmas time, and people go all out.  I wasn't in a super ugly sweater (I found an awesome one at a thrift shop, but it cost 20 euro) and ended up wearing a tacky, sequin, candy cane striped shirt that I got for 3 euro at a market.  My Norwegian friend came decked out in a horrible red reindeer sweater and was definitely in the running for the prize.  Anyway, I found it really amazing when the French explained that their sweaters were ugly because “it’s an ugly color” (it was beige), “it has a lot of pills and is a little big” (it was black and you couldn't notice them), or “it has a hole.”   My friend and I were laughing about the fact that we actually liked some of the ugly sweaters.  But that’s okay; I've always known that I’m not very fashionable.  The party was a lot of fun though, and there was more than enough vin chaud to go around!