[imagesource: Getty]

When Princess Diana wore something, it often sold out almost immediately, or inspired a series of knock-offs for those who couldn’t afford high-end fashion.

The same applied to her engagement ring, which, when people discovered that it was shop stock – meaning people could walk in and buy the same ring as the future Queen of England – everyone immediately walked in a bought the same ring as the future Queen of England.

In June of 1981, a month away from her wedding, before she upgraded to Princess of Wales, Lady Diana Spencer wore a black sheep sweater.

There’s just a touch of foreshadowing there if we take into account how her relationship with the Royal Family would play out.

Over to The New Yorker for more on the sweater.

The two designers of the black-sheep sweater, Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne, of the knitwear label Warm and Wonderful (now known as Muir and Osborne), still do not know exactly how Diana came to own the garment—the going theory, they told me recently, over the phone, is that the mother of one of her wedding page boys gave it to her.

They only figured out that she had it when they saw the pictures of her wearing it at Charles’ polo match.

Image: Getty

Then she wore it a second time (heaven forbid) so she must have liked it.

The sweater makes an appearance in the fourth season of The Crown, which people can’t stop talking about to the point of insanity.

So far the series has inspired:

• An attack on Prince Charles and Camilla, which has caused them to turn off ‘comments’ on Twitter.
• Debates about bulimia
• An interview with that guy who broke into the Queen’s bedroom.

Those are just a few of the topics doing the rounds. There’s also an article about the Queen’s relationship with Margaret Thatcher.

Back to the sweater, which you can buy for $295 (roughly R4 500) from Rowing Blazers.

Image: Rowing Blazers

Designer Jack Carlson, who worked with Muir and Osborne to re-create the original faithfully, says he launched it with a few improvements:

“The original had long strands that you could get your jewelry caught in.”

The sweaters, which are handmade in Portugal, sold out within 24 hours.

“‘The Crown’ certainly helps, and I’ve had lots of people asking if we planned these sweaters to come out with the new season,” Carlson said.

Image: Rowing Blazers

“And the answer is no! I’ve been working on this for nearly two years. If we had had any idea at the beginning of this process how much excitement there was going to be, we would have made a lot more.”

If you want one, you now have to preorder it. They’re currently taking orders for sweaters that will be delivered in February/ March next year.

To ensure it arrives safely, you might want to look into Postbox Courier so that you don’t have to deal with customs or delay your order any more than is necessary.

Or, you can download this free ‘Diana Black Sheep’ knitting pattern on Pinterest and make your own.

[source:newyorker]