Get ready for some wild Christmas sweaters!

I have a fun collection of photos for you guys! The mall did not disappoint when it came to crazy sweaters this year. I'm not even going to say ugly sweaters, because I don't see these as ugly. Just crazy, creative, and a bit of a shout out to what my grade school teachers used to wear. In fact, I wouldn't even be surprised if some of their old clothes were at one of these stores!

Remember Ragstock, the store that had all kinds of fun (mostly used clothing) for Halloween? Well, they did a lot of decorating for Christmas too. Here are a few shots of their window displays. 

How fun is their vintage sign? "Lo! Lo! Lo!" 

They decorated the ceiling again. Do you see the tiny sweaters on a banner up there?

A few sweatshirts snuck in there too.

Like at Halloween, there was a rack of accessories. 

Is that elf on a reindeer llama? 

This is my favorite of the (new) Christmas sweaters they had in. You've probably noticed already that the newer ones have a sticker that says "Put your drink in my pocket". 

Another cool shark sweater. 🦈 Maybe I like these shark sweaters best because I'm drawn to the shiny material. 

There were Hanukkah sweater options too. This sloth one is my favorite of those. 

This cat sweater actually scares me a bit. I think it's the eyes. As I look at this, I don't even think it's a Christmas sweater. This feels more like a funky Valentine's Day sweater. I'm going to be nice and not say "ugly" here but I will say funky! Yikes. 

Ragstock actually has a Christmas sweater section on their web site: 

Shop Vintage Christmas Sweaters

I think you'll agree that our store has a cooler selection than what's on this site, but it's still fun to look. Also, the prices at the mall were a lot lower!

After Ragstock, I visited JCPenney. There were no funky Christmas clothes to be found there! I did find these two in the Christmas ornament section, though. If only I had a Halloween tree, or in this case, a Day of the Dead tree. I wanted to have a reason to need this pink Chihuahua head. 

Penney's did have a number of those types of gifts that only appear around Christmas time. I've never seen an electric s'mores maker, have you? It reminds me of a fondue pot, because it looks like it could be a group/party treat. At first it seemed kind of goofy, but the more I looked at this, the more I wanted to try it. 

From Penney's to TJ Maxx... Oh did TJ Maxx ever have some wild Christmas sweaters! I learned that the men's section is the place to be for those. I noticed that people in that section were watching me take photos and I assume they were wondering "What man is she shopping for?" 

This. Hahaha! Every time I see it, I laugh. It's creepy, though. 

This one's pretty cute. It has an actual ringing bell on it. 

They'll hear you coming in this one! 

I had to get a picture of the brand name on the tag.

This one is adorable. I'd wear it. 

This close-up picture of the sweater is the wallpaper on my phone now.

A couple walked by as I was photographing this and just stopped, stunned. This is what David S. Pumpkins wears for Christmas, right? It would be good for a performer of some type. Maybe every guy in a band could be wearing one of these for a Christmas concert? I'll tell you one thing, this jacket is heavy!

Yeah, we're still in the men's section here. I had thought that was a skirt, but I think it's a pair of shorts. For the reindeer that doesn't mind being a little cold. 

A few from the ladies section:

A close-up, because this one's pretty cute. 🐻

And yes, even dogs can't escape from this. I don't know about that buttoned Grinch face over the butt. I understand it's an old fashioned long johns thing, but for a dog? 

Well, there you have it! Pretty good selection, eh? I've actually been invited to a party where we're encouraged to wear something kooky like this. I don't know what I'm wearing yet, although I did get some glittery silver present decorations from Dollar Tree to clip on myself. Here's an example of one that's clipped to my Santa hat:

These actually look pretty classy clipped onto a black scarf, like old-time brooches. What's fun is that I can decorate a present, floral display, garland, etc. with these after the party!

A trip back in Halloween time!

You guys might remember photos from last year's Halloween trip to Farm Girl Antiques. There were plenty more cool displays on this year's trip! A couple of the items might look familiar from before but they're being shown in new ways.

How adorable is this sassy jack-o-lantern? Even the potato chip label on that container looks cool alongside these pumpkins. It has that same vintage/graphic flavor.

Same with that cracker box in this pic. I see "Fancy Crackers & Cakes" on this label, but I had it in my head that this was a box that held firecrackers. Maybe that's because of the sun that looks sort of like a sparkler.

That little triangle with a cat face on it is a hat. It might be hard to see, but there are little silver jingle bells on its corners.

I really like how this picture ended up, just really simple with the black, white, and orange. And I can imagine the kid in this costume carrying that lantern.

It may be hard to tell what's going on here, but this circle is a magnifier and it's in front of a page in a book. I don't think I've ever seen a magnifier that sits upright like that. It looks like something that should be in a science lab.

Spiders in a bottle:

These cut-outs were placed on an old school desk, which seemed appropriate. They look like something that could be hanging as a decoration on a schoolroom wall.

These orange frames are so beautiful. I like the way Venetian glass frames glow. And how perfect is Carole Lombard and a black cat in there? Note the jar of skulls behind her.

The sister frame to that one had another cool pic of a girl with her cat in it. The reflection on that picture was a total accident, but I like the way her face is hidden. I think that makes her look ghostly.

"Essence of common vampire BAT SPLEEN ~ Use with caution" The essence of tiny spleens. If you think about that, it sounds like a pretty tedious process. Especially if you read further: "Steeped in brine for three hundred days and nights"

Some displays like this one go with the "Farm Girl" name. I thought those orange lights were so cute on that old woodwork. Those are vintage napkins in the frame at the bottom.

You can step out into the old window display area in the front of the store. You know, the area mannequins might have been displayed back when this was a clothing store. That's where I took the next several photos.

I like this one because there are all kinds of reflections going on. Reflections of the buildings across the street, of that architectural element, and of a building in the mirror. I'm not even sure which direction that building in the mirror was facing. There could be a reflection of a reflection thing going on.

You might have noticed the old tin ceiling in previous pics.

You can imagine this as a large clothing store back in the day, right?

In the middle of the store was this fashionable skeleton, riding in her carriage.

She even has a cat in her lap.

A tiny, velvety pumpkin was the trip souvenir. Check out the cute label on top of it. Like in a few of these other photos, I'm just now noticing some of the type close-up. "Serving witches since 1674"

There it is in all its adorable fuzziness.

So there's another year's fun trip to the antique store! Did you see anything that you would have wanted to take home?

P.S. ~ If you'd like to revisit last year's shopping adventure: 

An Antique Halloween Atmosphere