Wrapped in Christmas cheer

The mistletoe hunter or the channel changer?

This festive season what the really well-dressed man is wearing is the holly- and reindeer-printed suit. Gareth Rubin tries it on.

Bedecked with images of Santas, reindeer, snowflakes and happy-looking snowmen, all crafted in the finest polyester, the Christmas suit is the latest item to challenge received ideas about what looks good for the festive season. The desire for an extreme look is certainly out there. The company that came up with the concept, Opposuits, has already sold tens of thousands.

They originated in the Netherlands but have spread rapidly across the UK. Stores in New Zealand have begun stocking them.

By uniting the classic suit with the sense of wild abandon exemplified in the florid sweaters traditionally worn for Northern Hemisphere family gatherings in December, its creators claim it adds a sense of fun to men's tailoring that has been missing for at least a century.

So it is that on a Thursday I emerge from the tube on to London's Oxford St in a bright red suit, for all the world like a man in wrapping paper.

The very first comment I hear is the succinct "Holy shit, what is he wearing?" Strong reactions from strangers continue and people constantly ask where I bought my suit.

Meanwhile, parents nervously steer children away from me. The suit is responsible for a free muffin offer in a coffee shop and suspicious glances from a policeman.

Jelle van der Zwet, co-founder of Opposuits, says: "It's something between fancy dress and fashion but definitely for men who don't take themselves too seriously.

"The quality is better than the tacky costumes you'll find in a fancy dress store but, at the same time, it's not a fashion product you would wear on an average day.

"It makes you stand out so much it literally changes your day or night out. People take photos of you and ask where the hell you got it from. Or you get applauded for wearing one."

He and his business partners came up with the idea when they were backpacking in Vietnam.

"We came across a textile market in a small town called Hoi An with lots of flowery or leopard-print designs that were supposed to be for bed sheets or curtains.

"But we said we wanted a full suit and matching tie. We wore the suits to a couple of parties and the amount of attention we got told us we were on to something."

To see if I could blend in, I headed for the most Christmassy zone in London, Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland. Every second person tells me how much they like my suit. But that does not mean it is practical - in the park's Ice Bar, where the air is a fresh -10C, I realise just how poorly polyester keeps me warm.

My friend, Angela Clarke, is not so impressed. "You look like a walking Christmas stocking," she says. "And it looks quite flammable."

Teo van den Broeke, senior style editor of Esquire, has strong opinions about the Christmas suit.

"I struggle to understand the motivation behind buying a noisy novelty two-piece, even if it is in the name of fancy dress. Surely a monkey suit would be more appropriate?" he says.

That opinion is echoed by Robert Johnston, the style director of GQ: "Maybe I'm just a Grinch, but I absolutely hate them.

"The very, very, very worst thing is the matching tie because matching sets of anything are dreadful. They smack of office parties, photocopying your bum. You'll wear this, get drunk and end up getting arrested."