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Princess Diana’s Iconic Sheep Sweater to Be Auctioned After 40 Years in Storage

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Updated on June 27, 2023

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A rare piece of fashion history is set to go up for auction in August as Sotheby’s announced that Princess Diana’s iconic sheep sweater will be available for sale.

The red sweater, featuring a black sheep motif, was famously worn by the late Princess of Wales in June 1981, one month before her royal wedding to Prince Charles.

The jumper put British knitwear brand Warm and Wonderful on the map, and designers Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne received a letter from Buckingham Palace a few weeks later.

The original sweater was forgotten until Osborne stumbled upon it earlier this year while searching for a pattern in her attic.

“It was well-preserved, and I had a kind of Groundhog Day moment and thought, could this be the one?”

The sweater is offered with an estimated price of $50,000 to $80,000, and Cynthia Houghton, Sotheby’s global head of fashion and accessories, exclusively told PEOPLE that Diana’s favorite gym-going Virgin Atlantic sweatshirt, which was sold for $53,533 in 2019, is the closest comparison, but the sky’s the limit.

What raises the stakes for the upcoming sweater sale is that the item has never come to market.

The original knit’s significance is further elevated by the fact that Princess Diana wore the design twice.

While the original sweater remained tucked away, the Princess of Wales slipped on her second version of the sweater for another one of Charles Polo matches in 1983.

She wore it with oversized sunglasses, a white blouse, and white pants for the second spin, and the meaningful re-wear may hint that she felt like an outsider.

Muir speculates that when Princess Diana first appeared in the sweater, she was very much dressed by other people, and this was the start of her breaking free and choosing her own pieces.

Osborne adds that the first time she was very much a young girl, and she thought it was amusing and fun, but the second time she wore it in a much more sassy way with a shirt underneath and a black tie, and she looked much more in control.

Though Muir and Osborne never directly connected with Princess Diana, her support for Warm and Wonderful took the business to the next level.

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London acquired one of the jumpers for its permanent collection in 1983, and Warm and Wonderful stopped producing the black sheep style in 1994.

Online bidding for Princess Diana’s original red sweater opens on August 31 and will run until September 14 through Sotheby’s.

The jumper will also be displayed to the public at Sotheby’s Manhattan headquarters starting September 7.

Fashion fans inspired to sport a look-alike of their own can pre-order the Diana edition sheep sweater from Rowing Blazers for $248.

Warm and Wonderful reissued the historic design to Jack Carlson and his label in 2020, bringing the timeless style to the next generation.

In January, Sotheby’s coordinated two other Princess Diana-related style sales.

Kim Kardashian bought a diamond and amethyst garrode cross pendant which Diana wore in 1987 for $197,453.

Two weeks later, Diana’s aubergine evening gown by Victor Edelstein sold for $604,800, five times the pre-estimate, and made fashion history as her most expensive dress ever sold.

The upcoming auction of Princess Diana’s original sheep sweater is expected to generate significant interest from fashion enthusiasts and collectors alike.

With its unique history and significance, the sweater is set to become a highly sought-after piece of fashion memorabilia.