See Lady Di’s sheep jumper and Michelle Obama’s little black dress at Fashion Icons show

If you’ve ever wanted to own a piece of fashion history, now might be your chance.

ADVERTISEMENT

Sotheby’s online Fashion Icons sale features legendary garments like Princess Diana’s red woolly sheep jumper or Lauren Bacall’s beat-up Birkin bag.

But if you don’t have several thousand to fork out for one of these iconic pieces, you can at least see them in person for the next week.

At Sotheby’s New York galleries, the items will be on display from September ۷ to September ۱۳ before online bidding closes on September ۱۴.

Here is the history behind some of those celebrated clothes.

Michelle Obama’s history-making second-hand dress

Michelle Obama made history when her outfit marked the first time a First Lady had worn a vintage dress to a public event.

She wore a 1950s Norman Norell black lace dress to attend the TNT ‘Christmas in Washington’ musical broadcast celebration in ۲۰۱۰.

• Barack and Michelle Obama return to White House for official portrait unveiling. But why only now?

The bodice of the dress is simple and structured while the skirt is voluminous and made of silk organza.

During her time as First Lady, Michelle Obama advocated for sustainable practices and green fashion.

This vintage dress sent a statement that being fashionable didn’t always mean having the latest release, particularly at a time when America was struggling out of a recession.

The designer Norman Norell is famed for dressing American Hollywood icons including Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, and Lauren Bacall.

Sarah Jessica Parker’s Sex and the City headpiece

A show full of fabulous outfits was bound to have a few iconic pieces and one is on sale at the Fashion Icons auction.

ADVERTISEMENT

The item is a vintage taxidermied bird of paradise headpiece from the 1800s which Sarah Jessica Parker wore as part of Carrie Bradshaw's bridal ensemble.

The Fashion Icons pieces will be on show until September ۱۳.

Sotheby's

The accessory features the stuffed bird set against bright blue feathers and measures almost ۳۰ centimetres long.

Because the lot features an endangered species, the auction house notes that it “must either be shipped to its final destination within the United States or personally picked up in New York.”

There are currently no bids on the headpiece.

Princess Diana’s sheep jumper goes on sale

Despite not being the most glamorous item in the sale, the red woolly jumper once belonging to Lady Diana Spencer might be the item that’s garnered the most attention over the years.

ADVERTISEMENT

After she wore the sweater to a polo match in ۱۹۸۱ at the age of 19, it quickly became legendary.

• The eternal style icon? Princess Diana's legendary fashion sense explored

The design features white sheep on a red background, with a single black sheep. There was speculation that Diana felt this represented her status as an ‘outsider’ in the royal family.

The jumper was designed by Warm & Wonderful, which still makes a cotton version of the garment for €220.

Diana’s jumper is likely to sell for over $70,000 (€65,000).