LA Designer: Chisara Iwuagwu, Ugly Sweater Queen

Meet Chisara (Chisa) Iwuagwu; by day she teaches in an elementary school. By night and weekend, she greets anti-style seekers in a tiny pop-up storefront in Burbank, where she is sharing her love for ugly sweaters, both vintage and hand-adorned.

In case you hadn’t noticed, this year’s holiday meme is the Ugly Sweater. They are everywhere, on news shows and at holiday parties. They were even the subject of

controversy this year when Hallmark revised the holiday refrain on one of their ugly sweater-shaped ornaments from “don we now our gay apparel” to “don we now our

fun apparel.”

But ugly sweaters were not always a feature in the L.A. holiday season. After all, most Angelenos don’t prize looking “ugly.”

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Chisara (Chisa) Iwuagwu, pictured left in one of her hand-adorned sweaters, set out to change that.

By day Chisa teaches in an elementary school. By night and weekend, she greets anti-style seekers in a tiny pop-up storefront in Burbank, which grew out of demand for the vintage and embellished sweaters she was selling on ShopUglySweaters.com.

Chisa, who has a pipeline to a supply in the Midwest, and customer Gilbert Raposatell DnA what makes a truly beautiful ugly sweater; and they discuss why L.A. might be late to this particular trend.

You can find Ugly Sweaters at 2306 B West Magnolia Boulevard in Burbank, open Saturday and Sunday and weekdays after the 19th through Christmas.

KCRW’s Bryan Dietzman alerted DnA to Chisa’s sweater shop in Burbank. Pictured above is Bryan employing yet another meme of 2013, the selfie, and below, one of Chisa’s sweaters. Top of page: KCRW staff sport their holiday apparel.