What began as a routine trip to the thrift store turned into a royal fashion moment 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.
In 2023, the exact jumper worn by Diana, Princess of Wales sold at auction for $1.1 million, making it the most valuable sweater ever sold at auction.
Labowitch’s thrifted version appears to be an 1980s-era knockoff inspired by the original design, a reminder of how Diana’s fashion choices rippled through mainstream style at the time.
Warm & Wonderful’s re-launched version of the sweater is now dubbed the “Diana edition” and retails for between $240 and $270.
After her discovery, Labowitch shared photos of the sweater on Threads, where she occasionally posts fashion-related content.
The post quickly took off, gaining thousands of likes and hundreds of replies.
“I would simply start screaming!” said one commenter. While another wrote: “If you didn’t buy it I’m going right now to get it!”
Labowitch was surprised by the response online. “I shared the thrift find on Threads because I like occasionally sharing fashion-related content on my Threads account,” she said. “I am absolutely delighted to see how many people shared my excitement about this lucky discovery.”
This is not the first time a thrift store shopper has shared an amazing find. Earlier this month one woman could not believe it when she found a “masterpiece” painting for just $30 at her local secondhand store.
While last week a shopper revealed how she paid $9 for a sweater in her hometown in Italy, only to later discover that the same cashmere sweater retails for $380 brand new.