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Princess Diana’s Iconic Workout Sweatshirt Is Up for Auction & People Are Bidding *How* Much?!

An iconic piece of clothing that belonged to Princess Diana is officially on the market and back in style.

Boston-based RR Auction is currently accepting bids on the late princess’s Virgin Atlantic workout sweatshirt and honestly, we’d totally wear it.

The “Fly Atlantic” emblazoned sweatshirt was gifted to Diana by business mogul Richard Branson, who founded Virgin Atlantic. She wore the gift to each and every workout with her longtime personal trainer, Jenni Rivett, in an effort to dissuade the paparazzi from documenting her every move. (Her theory? If she wore the same thing to each workout, they’d be less inclined to try and snap photos. Pretty brilliant.)

Princess Diana passed the sweatshirt on to Rivett shortly before her death with a personal note that reads, “Dearest Jenni, Lots of love from, Diana, x.”

In addition to the stylish vintage sweatshirt, the highest bidder will receive two letters from Rivett, one which explains the sweatshirt’s provenance. It reads, “This sweatshirt was given to HRH by Sir Richard Branson. It became her most worn top on her regular visits to the gym. She felt there were far more important issues to focus on in the world then her gym attire and therefore decided that wearing the famous Virgin sweatshirt to every session, would be a good way to stop the media frenzy! A few months before her untimely death she called me to say she had left a few sweatshirts for me. Amongst them, this one—which I have now decided to part with.”

So why is Rivett parting with it? The personal trainer revealed that it’s been sitting in her cupboard and she thinks it deserves a special place in someone’s collection. In true Diana fashion, Rivett plans to donate the money to a family in need.

According to the auction house, the sweatshirt is in “fine condition with expected wear from use.” It was initially expected that the piece from Diana’s personal closet would go for $5,000 or so, but the current bid is up to $7,000 (aka a bit more than your average Lululemon athleisure).

It kinda seems worth it though, just saying.  


lex

Cat mom, yogi, brunch enthusiast

Lex is an LA native who's deeply obsessed with picnics, Slim Aarons, rosé, Hollywood history and Joan Didion. She joined PureWow in early 2017.