The immortal Windows XP wallpaper is now an ‘ugly’ sweater

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And, according to my peepers, Windows has never had a better aesthetic combination than the blue taskbar, green Start button, and gentle rolling hills of the Windows XP default wallpaper. Granted, that might just be nostalgia for a time when I didn’t have a mortgage and sciatica. But if you’re in the same camp, you might want to pick up the latest in Microsoft’s line of official “ugly” holiday sweaters.

The 2023 edition of the limited-edition top translates the “Bliss” wallpaper into a six-color variant, but preserves the iconic Sonoma, California vista horizon on a partly cloudy day. There are a few little touches to show that this isn’t just some clever Etsy buy like a cursor pointing to your kidney, sky blue trim matching the XP default task bar, and a tag in the form of an XP tool tip. Buying the $69.99 sweater supports The Nature Conservancy, though precisely how and to what degree, Microsoft has not enumerated.

Microsoft

If you want one, better get over to the official Xbox store lickety-split. Whatever you think of its sartorial merits, the Windows Ugly Sweater always sells out quickly — at the time of writing I’m seeing only the 2XL size variant in stock. You’ll need to keep a close eye out for restocks if you want something smaller or larger.