In the United Kingdom, a Sloane Ranger, or simply a Sloane, is a stereotypical upper-middle or upper-class person, typically although not necessarily a young one, who embodies a very particular upbringing and outlook. The Sloane Ranger style is a uniform, effortless, and unambitious although sophisticated one. Its counterpart in the US is the preppy style and in France is bon chic bon genre .
The term is a pun based on references to Sloane Square, a location in Chelsea, London, famed for the wealth of its residents and frequenters, and the television character The Lone Ranger .
The coinage came from Martina (Tina) Margetts, [1] a sub-editor on Harpers & Queen who worked (with fellow sub-editor Laura Pank) on the[ further explanation needed ] 1975 article. [2] 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.
Initially, the term "Sloane Ranger" was used mostly in reference to women, a particular archetype being Diana, Princess of Wales. However, the term now usually includes men. A male Sloane has also been referred to as a "Rah" and by the older term "Hooray Henry". [3]
Although Sloanes are nowadays supposedly more widely spread and amorphous than in the past, they are still perceived to socialise in the expensive areas of west London, most notably King's Road, [4] Fulham Road, Kensington High Street, and other areas of Kensington, Chelsea and Fulham. The pubs and nightclubs in these areas are popular with Sloanes, [ citation needed ] in particular the White Horse pub, known as the "Sloaney Pony" in Fulham, and Admiral Codrington, known as "The Cod", in Chelsea. [4]
In 2015, Peter York argued that the Sloane population has been winnowed and that Sloanes were more likely to be leading the British trend to downward social mobility. [5] In 2023, Tatler announced that it was time for the Sloane Rangers to "step aside" for the Bopeas, or Bohemian Peasants, a term and social theory describing downwardly mobile elite embracing a "rural life of making, brewing, fermenting and foraging". [6]
The following people have been considered by some to be Sloanes:
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is an Inner London borough with royal status. It is the smallest borough in London and the second smallest district in England; it is one of the most densely populated administrative regions in the United Kingdom. It includes affluent areas such as Notting Hill, Kensington, South Kensington, Chelsea, and Knightsbridge.
Chelsea is an affluent area in West London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles (4 km). It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area.
Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the sub-districts of South Kensington to the east, Chelsea to the south and Kensington to the northeast. It lent its name to the now defunct eponymous pleasure grounds opened in 1887 followed by the pre–World War II Earls Court Exhibition Centre, as one of the country's largest indoor arenas and a popular concert venue, until its closure in 2014.
King's Road or Kings Road is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both in west London, England. It is associated with 1960s style and with fashion figures such as Mary Quant and Vivienne Westwood. Sir Oswald Mosley's Blackshirt movement had a barracks on the street in the 1930s.
Sloane Square is a small hard-landscaped square on the boundaries of the central London districts of Belgravia and Chelsea, located 1.8 miles (2.9 km) southwest of Charing Cross, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The area forms a boundary between the two largest aristocratic estates in London, the Grosvenor Estate and the Cadogan. The square was formerly known as 'Hans Town', laid out in 1771 to a plan of by Henry Holland Snr. and Henry Holland Jnr. Both the square and Hans Town were named after Sir Hans Sloane (1660–1753), an Anglo-Irish doctor who, jointly with his appointed trustees, owned the land at the time.
A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditional employment.
Sloane Street is a major London street in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea which runs north to south, from Knightsbridge to Sloane Square, crossing Pont Street about halfway along.
West Kensington, formerly North End, is an area in the ancient parish of Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, England, 3.4 miles (5.5 km) west of Charing Cross. It covers most of the London postal area of W14, including the area around Barons Court tube station, and is defined as the area between Lillie Road to the south, Hammersmith and Fulham Palace Road to the west, Hammersmith Road to the north, and West Brompton and Earl's Court to the east. The area is bisected by the major London artery the A4, locally known as the Talgarth Road. Its main local thoroughfare is the North End Road.
Boho-chic is a style of fashion drawing on various bohemian and hippie influences, which, at its height in late 2005 was associated particularly with actress Sienna Miller, model Kate Moss in the United Kingdom and actress/businesswoman Mary-Kate Olsen in the United States. It has been seen since the early 1990s and, although appearing to wane from time to time, has repeatedly re-surfaced in varying guises. Many elements of boho-chic became popular in the late 1960s and some date back much further, being associated, for example, with pre-Raphaelite women of the mid-to-late 19th century.
In British English slang, Hooray Henry or Hoorah Henry is a pejorative term, comparable to "toff", for an upper-middle class or upper class man who exudes loud-mouthed arrogance and an air of superiority, often flaunting his public school upbringing. It is cited as the male equivalent of a "Sloane Ranger", although the female equivalent of a Hooray Henry is sometimes referred to as a Hooray Henrietta.
Henry Conway is an English socialite, party promoter, author and fashion journalist, occasionally self-styled as "Queen Sloane". He came to the attention of the press in January 2008 as a result of a scandal involving his father, former Conservative MP Derek Conway.
Cadogan Group Limited and its subsidiaries, including Cadogan Estates Limited, are British property investment and management companies that are owned by the Cadogan family, one of the richest families in the United Kingdom. They also hold the titles of Earl Cadogan and Viscount Chelsea, the latter used as a courtesy title by the Earl's eldest son. The Cadogan Group is the main landlord in the west London districts of Chelsea and Knightsbridge, and it is now the second largest of the surviving aristocratic Freehold Estates in Central London, after the Duke of Westminster's Grosvenor Estate, to which it is adjacent, covering Mayfair and Belgravia.
Rah or yah is a pejorative term referring to a stereotypical affluent young upper class or upper-middle class person in the United Kingdom. The term "rah" originated as a contraction of "Hoorah Henry", a pejorative description of a social stereotype similar to the Sloane Ranger stereotype also recognised in the UK, though a rah is generally younger, typically around university age (18–25), and less associated geographically with London. The use of the term is likely to have been furthered by onomatopoeic correlation with the way in which those fitting the stereotype are perceived to talk, with the word 'rah' being associated with upper-middle class affluence since at least the early 1980s. An important feature of the rah stereotype is the enjoyment of an affluent/party lifestyle with excessive financial assistance from their parents.
Bon chic, bon genre is an expression used in France to refer to a subculture of stylish members of the Parisian upper class. They are typically well-educated, well-connected, and descended from "old money" families, preferably with some aristocratic ancestry. The style combines certain fashionable tastes with the appearance of social respectability. The expression is sometimes shortened to BCBG.
North Sheen Cemetery is a cemetery in Kew in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is managed by Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
Nottingham Cottage is a house in the grounds of Kensington Palace in London. As a grace-and-favour property, the house has been frequently occupied by members of the British royal family, as well as staff and employees.
The fashion of Diana, Princess of Wales, had a substantial impact on the clothing industry; her style in the 1980s and 1990s led her to be considered a fashion icon.
I.J.G.B.(I Just Got Back) is a Nigerian slang term for a member of the Nigerian diaspora that has just returned to the country after an extended period abroad. It is an acronym for the phrase I just got back, which is considered a common utterance by returnees that indicates their disconnect with Nigerians in the country.
Bopea, a portmanteau of Bohemian Peasantry, defines a contemporary socio-economic group succeeding the Sloane Rangers, Bobos, and hipsters. The term characterizes an emerging group of individuals blending bohemian values of creativity and non-conformism with a more traditional "neo-peasant" worldview that values nature, community, and craft.
