Ugly christmas sweater shop banking on trend

(24 Dec 2013) LEADIN Jingling bells, reindeer and snowmen - Christmas-themed sweaters are guilty of breaking the odd fashion rule over the festive season. But now in one Texas store, the unfashionable is becoming cool with a host of tacky and tasteless holiday knits. STORYLINE Unfashionable to some, but now it's on everyone's Christmas wish list. Here in the Ugly Christmas Sweater Shop in Dallas, Texas, it's buzzing in business for these seasonal-themed winter warmers. Hundreds of customers have been pouring through the racks of tacky and unfashionable sweaters in search of their choice garment for the holiday season. These Christmas-themed garments were all collected by store owner Jeremy Turner, who plans to only open during the festive shopping season, as demand is likely to drop faster than Santa down a chimney after 25 December. Having noticed a trend for ugly Christmas sweaters at festive parties, Turner began searching for these tacky-looking items at second-hand stores. But - having realised they were hard to find around the holiday season - he went on to find a distributor of holiday-themed sweaters and now he's all stocked up for these Christmas shoppers. Turner says that here, it's all about celebrating the tasteless: "The whole thing, of course, is the tackier the better. So even in our shop, if you get the other sweater, you're gonna spend a little bit more than an average tacky sweater," he says. Now the store is open, Christmas shoppers are getting the chance to get their hands on a choice festive garment. "Just a bunch of different stuff on it, I really think I'm getting this one. It's gotta have Santa and a reindeer, I just want bling all over it," says a woman. Of course, the Ugly Sweater Shop has a large collection of weird and wonderful sweaters, and Turner says those are often the first to be snapped up: "A couple of weeks ago, we had one where Santa was creeping in a window and that was really weird to me and that sold fast," he says. Being the owner of the store, Turner naturally has his own favourite piece of holiday knit wear: "It's my favourite because I like to dance in it. The beard goes like that and you hear the bell and the eyes move. I was doing my Santa pop and lock," he says. Among all the choices of Christmas sweaters, Turner says the feline-themed winter warmers are quick to fly off the racks: "Cat sweaters, those fly off the shelves, you know. Cat people love their cat sweaters," he says. When shoppers are having this much fun, it seems the success of the Ugly Christmas Sweater Shop is almost assured. Although chances are this trend won't be hitting the high streets come January. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...