A simple sweater covered with sheep may bring in $50,000.
The sweater may be simple but the woman who wore it was anything but, and that’s why it’s expected to fetch such a high price.
The red sweater covered in a flock of white sheep and a lone black one was worn by Princess Diana before she became then-Prince Charles’ wife.
She was known as Lady Diana Spencer and she was only 19 when she was photographed wearing the sweater, known in the U.K. as a jumper, in June 1981, just after she and Charles became engaged, The Associated Press reported.
It was first designed by Sally Muir and Joanna Osbourne for Warm & Wonderful and was knitted with wool in 1979, CNN reported.
“Much to our amazement, the first we knew of Lady Diana Spencer wearing the sweater was when we saw her on the front page of one of the Sunday newspapers,” the two designers said in the auction’s news release.
A few weeks after Diana was first seen wearing it, Buckingham Palace sent the designers a letter saying that the soon-to-be princess had damaged it and asking whether it could be fixed or replaced. The sweater was returned and had a small hole in the cuff of the sleeve, with the designers speculating that it was caught by Diana’s sapphire and diamond engagement ring.
They made a new sweater, which Diana was seen wearing with white jeans and a black ribbon tie in 1983.
Osbourne found the original in a box, forgotten in an attic earlier this year.
Now Sotheby’s is putting the first sheep sweater up for auction.
Cynthia Houlton, the auction house’s global head of fashion and accessories, said, according to the AP, that “this exceptional garment, meticulously preserved, carries the whispers of Princess Diana’s grace, charm, and her keen eye for fashion.”
Some believe that the lone black sheep was admired by Diana because she felt like a royal family outsider.
The sweater will be on display starting on Sept. 7 to coincide with the start of New York Fashion Week, CNN reported. Online bidding for it will start Aug. 31 and run through Sept. 14, according to the AP.
Sotheby’s estimates the winning bid will be between $50,000 to $80,000, CNN reported.
If you don’t have that kind of cash for a sweater, Warm & Wonderful sells a cotton version for around $200. It’s called the “Women’s ‘Diana Edition’ Sheep Sweater.”
This isn’t the most expensive piece of Diana memorabilia ever sold. A ballgown that she wore that was designed by Victor Edelstein went for $604,800 at a Sotheby’s auction held in January, the AP reported.
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