In the spirit of the holiday season, we’re presenting one of our favorite yuletide fashion stories, “Have a Holly Jolly Sweater,” from December 2003. It took a humorous approach to reporting on the Christmas-themed apparel market, noting that for mass and moderate retailers, such fashions — those Santa, snowflake and reindeer-embellished tops — are “a fringe business.” However, this was not the case for the manufacturers, such as Marisa Christina, whose ceo Michael Lerner called their products “really just winter sweaters with a twist.” Lerner also shed light on demographics, explaining, “Women in New York still tend to dress in black a lot,” while “it’s a whole different world” in New Jersey malls. Michael Simon, another purveyor of holiday garb, went on to describe the lifestyle of his typical customer. “We’re hitting a younger group now,” he told WWD. “The new customer isn’t married. She’s the one who’s going out to a Christmas party and showing off a little.” To wit, WWD snapped women brunching at New York’s Tavern On The Green for an accompanying “They Are Wearing” feature.
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