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There are so many Princess Diana looks that live rent-free in my head. I was four when she died but my mom loved her and gave me many magazines and books about her when I was little, which I read through over and over again with complete devotion. (It’s probably what clued my parents in to the fact that I’d one day become fashion-obsessed.) One of my favorite Lady Di pieces is her infamous Black Sheep sweater with the red background. It’s among her most iconic casual looks, which she first wore at a polo match in 1981 shortly after her engagement to Prince Charles. Now the original sweater is being auctioned off at Sotheby’s–and it’s actually the first of two. She sent back the original because she had snagged it and asked if it could be replaced. It’s estimated to fetch at least fifty grand at auction.
A red sweater adorned with a flock of sheep worn by the young Princess Diana is expected to sell for more than $50,000 at auction.
The playfully patterned wool jumper featuring a single black sheep amid a pattern of white ones headlines Sotheby’s online Fashion Icons sale in September.
The 19-year-old Lady Diana Spencer was photographed in the garment at a polo match in June 1981, soon after her engagement to Prince Charles, who was then heir to the British throne.
Diana was already becoming a style icon —- and one of the world’s most photographed women — and the moment gave a big boost to designers Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne, who made the sweater for their small knitwear label Warm & Wonderful.
A few weeks later, Muir and Osborne received an official letter from Buckingham Palace explaining that Diana had damaged the sweater and asking whether it could be repaired or replaced. The original was returned, showing damage to a sleeve the designers thought might have been caused by snagging on Diana’s diamond and sapphire engagement ring.
A new sweater was knitted and dispatched, and Diana was photographed wearing it with white jeans and a black ribbon tie at an event in 1983.
I wonder if the sleeve really was damaged by the engagement ring. It would be kind of poetic if the symbol of her impending marriage damaged a sweater that celebrates individuality, which is why I can’t believe that’s what damaged it, it’s like something a screenwriter would come up with. One of my favorite new books from the last year is The Lady Di Look Book by Eloise Moran. The thesis of the book is that Diana was very adept at communicating through her clothes, and used them to express herself when being in the Firm kept her otherwise muzzled in some ways. I definitely believe the Black Sheep sweater was a commentary on her place within the Firm the second time she wore it in 1983. Diana had so many deep childhood wounds–reinforced on the daily by her feckless husband and the glacially cold Windsor family–that I think she always considered herself a ‘black sheep’ or an underdog. But she was able to use that pain and sense of alienation to relate to other people who really were marginalized by society, and that’s one reason she remains so beloved today. $50-$80K for a sweater is a lot but for something so iconic that once belonged to Diana, it feels like that’s about the market price. I hope whoever buys it takes good care of it.
photos credit: Avalon.red and Getty
Pro tip: You can also buy the exact sweater new (along with her “I’m a luxury…” jumper) from Rowing Blazers.
Thank you for that tip – although $250 is a bot out of my price range. It looked great on her, I doubt it will look that good on me. Lol.
Amazon has a $55 knock off version if you’d prefer trying that. 😀
Thank you! They were new to me, and I had a fun wander about their site.
You can also find the (free) pattern to knit it yourself if you google it.
Someone gave me the wool version as a gift a few years ago and it is super itchy.
Ugh, I had the same issue. I LOVE this sweater, tried it on in store, and the wool was just too scratchy. Why can’t more knits be 100% cotton?
@Anne, my mom is a knitter and I had brought a cotton sweater with me on a trip. She shook her head and said it won’t keep me warm due to cotton being a breathable fabric. And she was right. Maybe that is why 🤷🏻♀️
Probably a rough, large diameter weave. Wool needs a tight, high quality knit to feel comfortable.
This was one of my favorite casual looks on her. I bought a knockoff and worse the heck out of it. ❤️
*wore*
I’ve been obsessed with this sweater since I was a wee kid! I wish I had 50K to burn haha
Does anyone know who owns the sweater now?
I think the owner of the original shop. It had been packed away and forgotten after they sent Diana a replacement sweater. I’m not sure where I read that, though.
That would be my guess. Who else would have the original but damaged one, along with the letter asking for a replacement?
Here’s a version of the story that I read earlier:
https://www.vogue.com/article/the-story-behind-princess-diana-black-sheep-sweater
Hope a Kardashian doesn’t up with it. When I saw ‘item belonging to Diana’ and ‘auction’ in the same sentence, that was my first thought.
I thought the same thing ! I wouldn’t be surprised if Kim buys it.
Kim is probably going to buy it.
See I was thinking Kate would go for it……
My thoughts exactly Becks1
Diana. R.I.P.
What a natural beauty she was, look how young she is here.
She adored her children, but did not live a happy personal life.
Gone at 36.
The young and beautiful princess whose life was cut tragically short.
Her evolution is still fascinating.
Style, glamour, even in a sweater and jeans she was gorgeous.
I think it’s wonderful her items are being raised as charity fundraisers.
Will or Harry should buy this sweater, as a family keepsake.
Ish and no to KK buying this.
That photo of Fergie and Diana chatting together, “The Merry Wives of Windsor” was a headline on People magazine when they were horsing around a bit at some horse show.
Who would have seen how either marriage turned out?
As a kid, I loved this sweater — and still do. I didn’t have a replica sweater, but I did have a black sheep Christmas stocking in a similar print. As a young Black person exploring majority white spaces, I appreciated the multiple meanings and the symbolism, and the total cuteness of the design. (See also: my Häagen-Dazs Chocolate Chip tee shirt🍪)
I wonder if whoever gets it will wear it — at least once?
I had that same sweater back in the day. Wish I kept it!
From my perspective now, the photos of the first wearing… she was so SO young, looks even younger than the nineteen year old she was, and in no way prepared for what awaited her. And other thought, you can really see the resemblance between her and William as a teen, sad that he turned out so differently in character from her.
She is so young when she wore it. I never really realized. Was she already feeling like a black sheep when she wore it during the engagement?
Diana told her sisters she wanted to back out of the engagement and her sisters told her it too late because her face was on the tea towels.
Lordy, I wonder if her sisters regret that in hindsight.
The People’s Princess. Princess Diana was the real deal, genuine in her affection for people in need of help and nurture. The British tabloids crucified her and then deviously campaigned to elevate Camilla and Charles for the throne.
RIP Princess Diana
Diana thought she was going to get the husband and children she dreamed of. She was so young and went into the marriage in good faith, Charles wanted the marriage on His terms.
Once thing about Di that I really love is that she went from having a country girl haircut to making that haircut the height of fashion. She grew into her own but didn’t change who she was at heart.
I’ve always wondered how much support Diana got from her sisters and brother after things went to hell w/Charles.
Not nearly enough, IMO.
Just look at how young and vulnerable she looks here.
I’ve heard it said that Diana thought marrying Charles, he was the one person, NOT allowed to divorce.
She really suffered in her childhood from her parents divorce/remarriage.
I think emotionally, at 19, she bought the Fairly Tale.
Tragic.
Y’all, in that top photo–that’s Diana in the center, then a blurry Charles at the left and a blurry…Camilla?…at the right. Would they have the gall to do that?? Use that photo at the auction??
Such an iconic sweater. Young and vulnerable Diana.
I have a journal in the design of the sweater, complete with little black tie, and a knockoff version of the sweater itself. That’s as close as I’ll ever get to it!
(I’m not a Di fanatic, I just really enjoy that particular pattern, and it’s super cute as an oversized sweater ☺️)