Whoopi Goldberg Has Made The Perfect Ugly Hanukkah Sweater
Image by Whoopi Goldberg for Zappos/Timothy White
When it comes to holiday sweaters, also known as the Ugly Holiday Sweater, Christmas tends to get all the attention. Maybe it’s the cascade of glittering lights that decorate streets and homes that make the festiveness easy to capture. Or perhaps it’s the distinctive red and green color scheme, a uniquely bold color combination that is kind of, well, ugly (but in the best possible way, of course).
Either way, Hanukkah is kind of like Christmas’ ugly step sister: next to the starry and festive over-the-top displays in hotel lobbies and mall atriums, the small corner reserved for the Hanukkah decor is kind of always…sad. It’s often a small, lone menorah with flickering electric “candles” that is dwarfed by an oversized Christmas tree.
And when it comes to the great Ugly Holiday Sweater, Christmas gets all the glory, while there are slim pickings of the Hanukkah-themed ones. And, even if you do find some, the sweaters are shmaltzy at best, downright ugly (and not in the fun, cute way) at worst.
Luckily for us, honorary (and somewhat self-proclaimed) Jew, Whoopi Goldberg, has made a Hanukkah sweater exclusively for Zappos.com that not only ranks as a quality Ugly Holiday Sweater, but is actually kind of adorable. The blue and yellow sweater — Hanukkah colors, of course — features a kippa-clad octopus whose arms vaguely represent the branches of a menorah. Which is actually kind of clever because there are eight nights of Hanukkah and an octopus has eight arms. But would you expect any less from a woman who is one of only 15 people in the world to be an EGOT (winner of all four major entertainment awards)?
Before this collection with Zappos.com, Goldberg debuted an Ugly Hanukkah Sweater with Lord and Taylor back in 2016. And this year is the first time the Menorah Octopus sweaters come in children’s sizes in addition to adult, so you can now match your mini-me.
Image by Zappos.com
Whoopi Menorah Octopus sweater, $99, zappos.com (on sale for $74.40)
Image by Zappos.com
Whoopi Baby Octopus Sweater, $85, zappos.com (on sale for $61.20)
Michelle Honig is the style writer at the Forward. Contact her at honig@forward.com. Find her on Instagram and Twitter.
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