When looking for the one, swipe right and swipe left no longer applies to just dating. Now, a new app is taking the popular dating app design and using it to pair users with the perfect tacky Christmas sweaters.
Ragstock, a new and recycled clothing company with a wide array of Christmas and costume apparel, recently released the web-based app, Swipe-A-Sweater. The app catalogs roughly 25,000 sweaters offered on Ragstock’s devoted Christmas sweater website, TheSweaterStore.com.
This isn’t the company’s first foray into the tacky sweater market.
Ragstock president Libby Finn said the company has been on the forefront of the movement since tacky Christmas sweaters began growing in popularity a decade ago. Now that demand has skyrocketed and mass market producers have joined the market, Ragstock has been looking for a way to stand out from the crowd, she said.
Enter the Swipe-a-Sweater app.
Finn said the app allows customers to find the perfect sweater to match their personalities without having to scroll through endless options. The app functions similarly to dating apps like Tinder, allowing users to swipe right or left when they see a sweater they like.
The app opens with a menu of questions focused on style, size, personality and activity. Instead of the typical answers, Folklore Digital, the design and consulting firm that designed the app, decided to go in a quirkier direction, Finn said.
First, the app prompts users to select their desired style, with options ranging from vests to sweatshirts. The next question focuses on how the users are feeling this holiday season. The six options vary from horny to hungry, and the app’s graphics change as users try out different choices.
Then the app asks what users are looking forward to doing this holiday season, from eating to playing in the snow. The final question asks users whether they’re “petite and sweet,” “just right,” or a “Santa in training” to determine sizing.
Finn said the goal of the swipe design and fun categories was to get customers excited for the holidays. Sweater shopping should be fun, and every customer should be able to have a sweater that reflects their personality, she said.
“If you’re going to go to a Christmas party, you don’t want to be wearing the one that everybody bought at the department store,” Finn said. “You want to find the ugliest one, the most different one, the most unique one.”
The sweaters range in price from less than $20 to over $100, Finn said. The price range depends on the images, embroidery and embellishments on the sweaters, with the majority of the sweaters falling in the $20 to $60 range, she said.
Each sweater is authentic vintage and was not originally worn as a gag, as many mass-produced tacky sweaters are today, but for fun seasonal gatherings, according to a Ragstock press release. Most of the sweaters are roughly 15 to 20 years old, and the majority have been imported from Ragstock vintage clothing purchasers around the world.

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Michael Palmer

Swipe-A-Sweater by Ragstock is a new app that matches users with the perfect tacky sweater.