What began as a routine trip to the thrift store turned into a royal fashionmoment for one Baltimore resident.
Jane Labowitch said she found a bright red sweater patterned with white sheep while browsing the racks at the 2nd Ave Thrift Store in Columbia, Maryland. The price tag? Just $4.99.
“I definitely bought it,” Labowitch told Newsweek. She explained that the seemingly normal sweater was instantly recognizable.
“I instantly recognized it as a vintage dupe of the Princess Diana sweater,” she said. “I’ve had my eye on the sweater for a while and have been thinking about buying one online, so this was kismet.”
The sweater she recognized is a nod to one of the most famous garments ever worn by Princess Diana: the red “Black Sheep” sweater designed by British brand Warm & Wonderful.
Diana first wore the original in 1981, shortly after her engagement to Prince Charles, and it quickly became an enduring symbol of her style—whimsical, approachable and subtly rebellious. The sweater has since become a pop-culture icon in its own right, frequently referenced in fashion retrospectives and even reissued decades later due to renewed interest.
