The 'Ugly' Way Buddy Valastro's Sons Are Supporting Robert Irvine
The Valastro household appears to be very, very fond of Fitcrunch Bars, the protein bar brand created by Robert Irvine. This is obvious from a post Buddy Valastro shared on Instagram yesterday. In the picture, the three Valastro boys stand in a row wearing Fitcrunch ugly sweaters and holding various Fitcrunch products.
"Did someone say ugly sweater party?" Valastro wrote. "My boys are obsessed with @chefirvine @fitcrunchbars nutrition products! Thank you to my brother @robertirvine for always raising the bar!"
The thing is, it seems that the family must have placed several expensive orders to pull off this picture. As an Instagram post by Fitcrunch bars explained on December 7, an order of $60 or more would get one of those Fitcrunch ugly sweaters for free, for as long as supplies last. So, to get the boys in uniform, the Valastros would have had to spend at least $180 over the course of three separate orders. Now that is an endorsement.
Where did ugly Christmas sweaters come from?
Seeing Robert Irvine's promotion of ugly Christmas sweaters, people may be struck by the question of where did this fad come from? After all, it is such a well-established fad that a protein bar line is indulging in it.
According to Fox News, Christmas sweaters began in the 1950s. However, they tended towards the tasteful end of the fashion spectrum. It was in the 1980s when Christmas sweaters began to take on the more flamboyant characteristics of the decade. When the '80s passed, people forgot about it until Bridget Jones' Diary, which was released in 2001. In it, Mark Darcy wore a Christmas sweater deemed ugly.
The ugly Christmas sweater party, however, began in 2002, as ThoughtCo explains. Chris Boyd and Jordan Birch held an ugly Christmas sweater party in the Commodore Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, which has since become an annual tradition. They have even trademarked the phrase "ugly Christmas sweater party." Perhaps they were inspired by the movie, or they just as easily could have noticed the piles of sweaters unworn since fashion moved on from the 1980s. Either way, the trend has reached peak mainstream with Buddy Valastro paying Robert Irvine both compliments and cash to wear the sweaters.