圣诞季：毛衣越丑越流行
This is one of the ugliest Christmas seasons in recent memories -- and that's the way some clothing retailers want it.
今年的圣诞季将会是近年来最丑的一次，但这正中许多服装零售商的下怀。
Sales of Christmas sweaters purposely designed to be ugly are looking pretty good at this point, according to the companies that make them.
圣诞毛衣厂商表示，故意做丑的圣诞毛衣今年销量看好。
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Festified.com, which started making off-color holiday jumpers in 2009, claims it will sell tens of thousands of sweaters this holiday season, while UglyChrstmasSweater.com is predicting sales of 30,000 ugly sweaters. Meanwhile, San Diego-based Tipsy Elves expects to beat the $3 million they had in sales in 2013.
2009年，Festified.com开始出售颜色难看的节日针织套衫。该网站声称，他们预计将在今年的节日季中售出上万件毛衣。而UglyChrstmasSweater.com预计将售出3万件款式难看的毛衣。位于圣地亚哥的Tipsy Elves则预计会超过2013年3百万美元的销售额。
As in all things, not just Christmas sweaters, ugliness is in the eye of the beholder. But there are certain standards that ugly Christmas sweaters must adhere to, according to Tipsy Elves CEO Evan Mendelsohn.
不仅仅是圣诞毛衣，同其他事物一样，每个人眼中的丑也不一样。Tipsy Elves首席执行官埃文 门德尔松（Evan Mendelsohn）表示，款式难看的圣诞毛衣要达到一些指定的标准。
"If you are trying to go truly ugly, it's all about the embellishments -- the more garland, bells, balls, lights, and sequins you can attach to your sweater, the better," he said.
他表示，如果想将衣服做到奇丑无比，装饰物是关键。毛衣上的花环、铃铛、小球、灯以及小金属片越多越好。
Mendelsohn's company and Festified take the accepted ugliness standards and add a touch of tastelessness. Along with the garlands, bells and garish red and green patterns come subtly shocking pictures, such as a reindeer threesome or Santa Claus showing his butt crack.
门德尔松的公司和Festified在采用了这些公认的丑陋标准的同时，还加入了一点庸俗的元素。他们将花环、铃铛还有鲜艳的红绿色图形组成一些难看的图案，如三只驯鹿或展示屁股破洞的圣诞老人。
Some people find the ugly sweaters amusing. Others, like fashion expert Bryce Gruber, think they may have gone too far. "My brother-in-law told me how he saw some old lady in her 70s at a sports bar wearing a sweater that showed a snowman with a carrot in his crotch and two Christmas ornaments dangling below," she said. "If the sweater is just ugly -- like too many rhinestones or sequins -- that's fine, but the holiday is not supposed to be about sexual snowmen."
一些人会觉得这些难看的毛衣很搞笑，而对于时尚达人布莱斯 格鲁伯（Bryce Gruber）这些人来说，这类毛衣丑得有点过分了。布莱斯 格鲁伯说道：“我姐夫曾告诉我，他见过一位70多岁的老太太坐在运动酒吧里，毛衣上印有一个裆部插着胡萝卜的雪人，还挂着两个圣诞装饰球。如果毛衣设计成像镶有过多人造钻石或是金属片那样丑也就算了，但圣诞节不该涉及有性暗示的雪人。”
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Fashion stylist James Cornwell says that even though ugly -- and edgy -- sweaters are in fashion, context is everything. What works at a party with friends might not work at a gathering filled with conservative relatives. "You won't get as much criticism if you make fun of Santa or the reindeer as you might with Jesus," he said.
时尚造型设计师詹姆斯 康伟尔（James Cornwell）认为，虽然这些难看鲜艳的毛衣很流行，但节日氛围才是重点。把朋友聚会上奏效的东西用到同保守的亲戚聚会中不一定有用。詹姆斯说：“如果你拿圣诞老人或驯鹿来开玩笑，你不会受到太多的批评，但拿耶稣来开玩笑就不一定了。”