The latest series of The Crown has sparked a revival of the Sloane Ranger style, the look famously associated with a young Diana Spencer. In one scene, Diana returns to her Earl’s Court flat to announce her engagement to Prince Charles, surrounded by flatmates in sensible knitwear, pie-crust collars and silk scarves. The style, which originated in the early 1980s, is now being rediscovered by a new generation.
Peter York, co-author of The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook, coined the term in 1975 with Ann Barr. Originally called the Connaught Rangers, the name was changed after a subeditor suggested the pun on the Lone Ranger. The book, which featured Diana on its cover, gently mocked the habits of young upper-class Londoners, from their reluctance to use postcodes to their love of balls.
York describes Diana as a 'supersloane' but notes she was not a typical Sloane: she was an aristocrat, not merely upper-middle-class. However, she wore what her contemporaries wore, and as her fame grew, the look spread nationwide. 'We're talking of a time before the internet,' York recalls. 'Sloane Rangers lived in an aesthetic bubble.'
The style has persisted, though modern Sloanes have been priced out of Sloane Square and now live in areas like Clapham. The Crown's faithful reproduction of the look has led to a resurgence of silk scarves, velvet headbands and pearls. Unlike other youth culture revivals, York notes that the Sloane style is about the status quo, not rebellion.
