A popular clothing company known for its quirky range of Christmas jumpers with subjects ranging from Gareth Southgate's waistcoat to Greggs' festive bake has this year included a touching tribute to the late Queen.
The online retailer notjust, which is a social enterprise and donates to charity 50% of profits from every jumper sold, has revealed its 2022 collection of festive wear and a stand-out design among its new knits shows the face of a young Elizabeth ll. Wearing a tiara, she is featured on a black background above the message Merry Christmas.
On the back of the jumper is a corgi wearing a Santa hat and the words 'Thank You for Everything Ma'am'. Above the message are the years of the late Queen's birth and death: 1926 and 2022.
Read more: full guide to North East pantomimes
The idea of a festive jumper with a royal tribute is set to strike a chord with families for whom the Queen's speech on Christmas Day has been a tradition for generations. The company says the jumper celebrating the monarch's life and reign leads its new collection.
A spokesman for the company, which recently also launched a Winter World Cup England Collection , said: "Whether eating sandwiches with Paddington or parachuting into the Olympics with James Bond, our longest-serving monarch Elizabeth II was loved across the entire nation. Our festive jumper features an iconic image of Her Majesty front and centre surrounded by Christmas motifs and with subtle diamond sparkling yarn detailing the crown."
He said the Royal ER insignia is woven into the Merry Christmas text and that the thank-you on the reverse speaks "for the nation in our thanks for her service". Also among this year's range from notjust - whose past creations have also included a climate-conscious David Attenbrr! woolly which Ed Sheeran was pictured wearing - is a jumper featuring The Snowman, the iconic creation of author and illustrator Raymond Briggs who died earlier this year.
This design, another homage to a favourite, is a simple knit showing the familiar image of The Snowman in a year which also marks its 10th birthday. Another jumper, also set to be a talking point, is a Worldle-inspired design to celebrate the creative minds behind the popular daily brain teaser.
The famous word game was created in Wales and the jumper features - in classic Wordle style - five-letter festive words on the front and - on the back - an image of Wordle Christmas trees made from the iconic squares alongside the words Have a Wordleful Christmas.
The donation of 50% of profits from the sale of every jumper will benefit UK charities which help the most vulnerable in society to cope with the cost of living crisis. And notjust has already donated £85,000 to good causes, which have included Save the Children, from its previous Christmas campaigns.
Matt Clarke, co-founder of notjust, said : “We’re back with our best of Britain range celebrating the heroes and talking points of our times on Christmas jumpers that are certain to steal the show at any Christmas party this festive season. This year we lead with our Queen Christmas jumper, celebrating the most iconic British hero we have celebrated to date."
The business says that, with people having to tighten their purse strings this year, it has reduced the price of its new Christmas jumpers, which come in sizes from XS-XL, to £34.99. Former favourites - including Greggs, David Attenbrr, Crypto, Lewis Capaldi, Louis Theroux, Vegan, Peaky Blinders, Nordic knits , are cheaper; starting from £9.99.
The social enterprise is committed to ethical, sustainable products and its knitwear production takes place in the UK using carbon neutral practices and biodegradable packaging. To buy one of the Christmas jumpers in the range see here.
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