Sloane Ranger

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The term Sloane Ranger (often shortened to Sloane or Sloanie) refers to a stereotype of young, upper class or upper-middle-class women or men who share distinctive and common lifestyle traits. The pun term is a combination of "Sloane Square," a location in Chelsea famed for the wealth of residents and frequenters, and the television Westerns character The Lone Ranger.

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. Male Sloanes have also been referred to as "Ra Ra Ruperts" and "Hooray Henrys".[1] The term Sloane Ranger have similar related terms in other countries: in France they are called 'BCBG' (bon chic, bon genre), in Australia they are sometimes referred to as Pru and Trudes (based on similar characters in the TV Series Kath and Kim). The Preppy of the United States can appear similar to the Sloane Ranger at first glance but in fact they are worlds apart in their ideologies and aspirations.

Contents

[edit] The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook

Cover of The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook.

Sloane Ranger, a commonplace term in 1980s London, was popularised by British writer Peter York and co-writer Ann Barr in The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook (1982) and its companion The Official Sloane Ranger Diary. 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."[2]

The exemplar female Sloane Ranger is considered to be Lady Diana Spencer before marrying Charles, Prince of Wales, when she was an aristocrat from the family of the Earls Spencer. However, most Sloanes are not aristocrats as Diana was. Considered typical of SRs are patriotism and traditionalism, and a belief in the values of upper class and upper middle-class culture, self-confidence in themselves and their given places in the world, a fondness for life in the countryside, country sports in particular, philistinism and anti-intellectualism.

However, not all Sloanes like country sports—Diana herself hated them, and not all Sloanes are philistine anti-intellectuals. The reason why a proud philistinism is emphasised is twofold: SRs, with their SR-based self-confidence were supposedly unembarrassed to admit disliking ballet, opera, modern art, and James Joyce; most public intellectuals of the 1970s and the 1980s were left-wing, hence aligning with left-wing intelligentsia cultural values is anathematic to (typically) staunchly Tory Sloanes. The typical male Sloane is satirised by the Harry Enfield character, Tim Nice-but-Dim.

Accent noticeably identifies and separates the Sloane Ranger from the non-Sloane. Sloanes will share the same general accent traits whether they come from London, the Home Counties, Scotland, other parts of Britain, or even if they have been educated abroad. Sloanes often use the same language as middle-class non-Sloanes, but their accent is different. Younger sloanes in particular, increasingly use the same slang terms as the young populations as a whole. The difference is that Sloanes have a region-neutral accent. Accent is probably the most overtly defining feature of a Sloane, even more than dress, since many Sloanes nowadays will not always wear traditionally sloane clothes.

Traditional values of the English upper class and upper-middle class asserted themselves in the careers chosen, or the careers that were expected to be chosen, by young Sloane Rangers. For women, there was no shame in academic failure and mediocrity and the subsequent employment in secretarial jobs (indeed, expensive secretarial courses in London, Oxford, and Cambridge were popular among SR in the 1980s), since it was expected that even bright FSRs would only hold down a job until meeting a suitable husband. MSRs looked to the traditional careers of the British Army ; farming; the law; and the City. By the 1970s / 1980s Sloane Rangers had begun filling the ranks of estate agents, chartered surveyors, wine merchants and art dealers.[citation needed]

[edit] Sloane territory

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Although Sloanes are more widely spread than they used to be, they tend to socialise in the expensive areas of West London, most notably Kings Road, 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 the Admiral Codrington, known as "The Cod," in Chelsea. Sloanes have also traditionally favoured certain holiday destinations, in particular European ski resorts such as Val d'Isere. Popular Summer destinations include the Caribbean, Monaco, the Greek Isles and Cannes.

Sloanes are associated with being educated at top-tier Private schools, known as Public Schools in England.

Many Sloanes may aspire to attend the traditional universities of Cambridge and Oxford and in the past these universities were known for their upper-class attendance but both have high academic standards and admission is no longer based on social class. A number of other universities, however, have established reputations as havens for Sloanes who are unable to gain admission to Oxbridge, such as the University of Durham, the University of St Andrews, and the University of Bristol.[citation needed]

Due to stiff academic competition, globalization and social mobility, universities are attracting a wider variety of students of a high calibre, which is leading to the diminishment of the "social club" role the more historic universities have played. Indeed, the Pitt Club at Cambridge is the historic centre of Sloane social life for the university and has been in long-term decline, with the main part of its building rented out to Pizza Express

[edit] Modern Sloanes

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[edit] The later generation

Applied to a younger, school-age generation, the term can also be seen as a generic term for confident, somewhat brash, private-school children. Male Sloane fashion has remained relatively constant over the years: the trend amongst the men being for open-necked shirts and traditional brands like Barbour. Female Sloanes generally favour a scruffy ponytail, dangly ear-rings, Jogger bottoms (sometimes even pyjama trousers)[citation needed] & jumpers (particularly those labelling their sport of choice i.e. netball team etc. or their school) bangles and pashminas[citation needed] : tending to be affluent, they dress expensively, but not too neatly and never ostentatiously. Sloane women are partial to Ugg boots and are very keen on brands such as Polistas and Jack Wills.[3] However recently due to an increasing Americanization of the UK, brands often worn include Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister and "Pink" by Victorias Secret. Although country pursuits have become less popular in general over the years, some Sloanes vehemently opposed the hunting ban and support rural issues and the Countryside Alliance.

[edit] "Splintred" Sloanes

This traditional Sloane identity has recently multiplied and fragmented. This has been bound up with the changing demographics of London in the mid to late 1990s with massive increases in wealth that considerably increased the Sloane population. Sloanes have sought out new areas of London and with that new negotiations of Sloane identity. Notting Hill in particular has been transformed from a poor immigrant community to one of London's most desirable locations in a relatively short space of time. This has seen the influx of both "new" money (nouveau riche) and "old" traditional wealth. Notting Hill has become increasingly "Sloaney" as the children of traditional Sloanes move out of Chelsea (and other West London haunts) to what was perceived to be a more artistic, bohemian and trendy area. This new, younger generation of Sloanes[citation needed] are called "Boho" or "Notting Hill" Sloanes,[citation needed] another variation being the "Ethnosloane,"[citation needed] and are represented both in the media industries[citation needed] such as journalism, TV, PR and advertising,[citation needed] as well as The City. Managing an art gallery of the right kind might also be an acceptable occupation.[citation needed] Other areas Sloane Rangers reside include Hoxton, Shoreditch and other areas undergoing gentrification.

[edit] Notable Sloanes

The following people have been considered—and criticised—as past and current Sloanes:

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "ON THE TRAIL OF LONDON'S SLOANE RANGERS". The New York Times. 25 March1984. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9C04EFD81139F936A15750C0A962948260. 
  2. ^ "Harpers & Queen Timeline", The National Magazine Company, 2006.
  3. ^ a b c Armstrong, Lisa (19 January 2007). "Just don't say yah... OK?". Times Newspapers Ltd. pp. Section 2 pp4-5. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7-2553856_1,00.html. Retrieved 19 January 2006. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloane_Ranger"