40 years since the publication of The Sloane Ranger Handbook, Sloane Ranger style keeps on coming back
The rules still apply, but also they’re made to be broken.
In 1982, for a certain set in London and beyond, it was decreed that there were rules. Here are some of them: jelly ought to be eaten with a fork, if needs must, one can cry when singing carols but not at a funeral and a house should be a manor house and also suitable for animals (inside).
The Sloane Ranger, as perfectly, accurately depicted in the wildly popular The Sloane Ranger Handbook by Peter York and Ann Barr spoke to the modes of style, behaviour, taste and mannerisms of an extremely specific upper-middle class fusty poshness. Volvo driving, Alice band and pie-crust collar wearing and braying and hooting at the right pubs and schools Sloane-ness has of course fallen in and out of fashion. Well actually it was never in fashion, that would be rather too ghastly. Anyway the aesthetic was once dubbed “middle-aged dressing for young people.”
Yet 40 years on from the publication of the book, which was, crucially, funny, Sloane style — muddy wellington boots, pashminas, mummy’s pearls, ancient waxed Barbour jacket and all — remains as covetable as ever. Both within the set, and far, far beyond it. And actually, hooray.
This has much to do with the fact that the late Princess Diana, who despite being properly aristocratic and not merely aristocrat adjacent or aspiring, was once the most famous Sloane of them all. She not only appeared on the cover of The Sloane Ranger Handbook but was also dubbed the “supersloane” within its pages. Some 25 years after her death Diana remains just about the ultimate style pin-up.
It’s not just that Diana’s 90s ath-leisure looks have been co-opted by Gen Z It-girls such as Hailey Baldwin and Bella Hadid and her “revenge dresses” endlessly analysed.
But her sweet Sloane Ranger looks from her single and newly married days — the twee blouses, the puff sleeves, the slightly frumpy midi skirts, the gingham — are particularly relevant right now in a mishmashed, pick n mix fashion world where anything goes.
This is demonstrated as much by the stars of Gen Z-skewed show Euphoria with character Lexi the new twee poster girl, as it is the puff sleeves and statement collars at cool Danish brand Ganni. The late fashion genius Virgil Abloh was entirely inspired by the Princess of Wales’s most famous looks in the 80s and 90s for his spring/summer 2018 collection, riffing on the red polka dot dress Diana wore for the 1983 Royal Tour of Australia, infamous revenge dress and more.
Recent photos of Australian actor Elizabeth Debicki, set to play Princess Diana in season five of The Crown, cement the idea that the Sloane Ranger isn’t going anywhere, nor is Diana’s influence on fashion. Debicki looks so like the late princess it’s uncanny and the attention to detail in recreating the princess’s clothes (and Diana took clothes very seriously) are witnessed in everything from her red ski jacket to a Sloane-appropriate floral dress on a yacht.
Other Sloane Ranger accoutrements are right on trend too, albeit in more modern ways. Pearls have never been cooler, worn by everyone from Harry Styles to mega fashion influencers such as Danish stylist Pernille Teisbaek with brands such as Sophie Bille Brahe re-imagining how we think of the classic jewellery piece.
The quirky sheep jumpers worn by Diana in the 80s have been reinterpreted by preppy with a twist American brand Rowing Blazers. Silk scarves, a Sloane essential can be spotted all over Instagram while ultimate British It-girl Alexa Chung has long collaborated with Sloane Ranger approved Barbour, purveyors of practical waxed jackets for sporting and outdoorsy pursuits.
Loafers are as in as they ever were, with brands from Gucci to Roger Vivier doing a twist on them, and a real humdinger: the incredibly 80s and 90s, chintzy Sloane Ranger brand Laura Ashley recently collaborated with cult New York label Batsheva on a capsule collection. Batsheva is known for its prairie-style dresses (and also dressing Kamala Harris’ very cool and fashion forward step-daughter Ella Emhoff at the presidential inauguration).
As the founder of Batsheva, Batsheva Hay told Vogue of the collaboration, “To me, Laura Ashley embodies an unpretentious beauty. I like to wear things that are comfortable and functional and have pockets and come in cotton, but at the same time I want a transportive experience; I want to become a different version of myself that’s elevated, fun and adventurous. I am not a minimalist.”
This fits into the Sloane Ranger aesthetic – the practicality, the nostalgia and the comfort – and also it doesn’t. The original Sloane Ranger was never particularly adventurous, how could one be when the ways of being were so ingrained, passed down from one Hooray Henry to another.
Which is why it’s so fun to see the Sloane Ranger out of its natural habitat and reinterpreted. There’s a subversiveness to cool girls wearing silk scarves and penny loafers — and as co-author Peter York told Tatler magazine when questioned whether the Sloane still exists, “adaptability is all, and camouflage is the best uniform.”
The rules may still apply in some circumstances — toffs and cool kids might wear a signet ring, luxury has been upended by things such as streetwear and property prices — the rules have very much been shaken up.
Yet there’s comfort too in knowing that some people are impervious to trends and fashions and carry on as they always have.
As Rachel Johnson (sister of the more famous Boris) wrote of the enduring appeal of the Sloane Ranger and its associated aesthetics for Airmail Weekly, “But now I realise how reassuring Sloanes — who wear navy blue and giggle in bed — are in these uncertain times, and this is why I secretly love stalking them in the haberdashery department of Peter Jones & Partners, where even I had my wedding list. Like Her Majesty, they represent and embody an unchanging commitment to conventional England and traditional Englishness in all its un-showy glory.”
It’s why, as Johnson notes, her majesty the Queen, she of unflappable, unchangeable style remains an inspiration. It’s always why Princess Diana, pinned in time, remains both the ultimate sloane ranger and forever a fashion muse. Pie crust collars and all.
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