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Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This section needs additional citations for verification. The title of the Sloane Ranger handbook lists the subheading "the problem of Hampstead", in reference to the stereotypical Sloane Ranger's supposed antipathy to the champagne socialist stereotype of the Hampstead liberal. Considered typical of SRs was patriotism and traditionalism, and a belief in the values of the upper-class and upper-middle-class culture, confidence in themselves and their given places in the world, a fondness for life in the countryside, country sports in particular, and in some cases philistinism. However, most Sloanes were not aristocrats as Lady Diana was. The exemplar female Sloane Ranger was considered to be Lady Diana Spencer before marrying the Prince of Wales, when she was a member of the aristocratic Spencer family. The books were published by the British society-watcher magazine Harpers & Queen, for whom Peter York was Style Editor and "was responsible for identifying the cult phenomena of "Sloane Rangers" and " Foodies". Sloane Ranger, a commonplace term in 1980s London, was originally popularised by the British writers Peter York and Ann Barr in the book Style Wars (1980), followed by The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook (1982) and its companion The Official Sloane Ranger Diary. Lady Diana Spencer is pictured in centre. The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook Ĭover of The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook. The term Sloane Ranger has equivalent terms in other countries: in France, they are called 'BCBG' ( bon chic bon genre), while a near analogue in the United States is the preppy subculture. A male Sloane has also been referred to as a " Rah" and by the older term " Hooray Henry".
However, the term now usually includes men. Initially, the term "Sloane Ranger" was used mostly in reference to women, a particular archetype being Diana, Princess of Wales. In her early twenties she had found herself amongst this social group while undertaking a course on fine art at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Sloane Ranger proposal came from Martina (Tina) Margetts, a sub-editor on Harpers & Queen who worked (with fellow sub-editor Laura Pank) on the 1975 article. These delineated the habits and customs of the social group in question, from clothes to shopping, to holiday venues, to choice of marital partner. Barr and the sub-editors at the magazine devised many of the 'attributes' of a Sloane, added as boxes to the main text, in what became a widely imitated format. The potential of the piece, to become a talking point and to define a new form of social comment, was seen from the start. Ann Barr and her editorial team at Harpers & Queen spent much time working on the original draft of the 1975 article. The innovatory journalistic format and techniques from the 1975 article had by then become well established. Several years passed before York and Barr collaborated on the Official Sloane Ranger Handbook, which became a global best-seller in 1982.
This led to an article for the magazine, defining the characteristics of this slice of English society.įemale Sloanes, especially those involved in equestrian activities, were often seen in the 1970s around London wearing Hermès or Liberty silk headscarves distinctively tied between the tip of the chin and the bottom lip, masking the lower part of the face, which furthered the "Lone Ranger" jest. The term dates from 1975 when aspiring writer Peter York had conversations with Ann Barr (then features editor of UK magazine Harpers & Queen) about what had become a recognisable tribe of young people living in Chelsea and parts of Kensington.