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What’s This About
Six Sloane Ranger outfits for men, each shown as an illustration with every garment labelled: a Barbour with Chelsea boots, a riding outfit, a tweed three-piece, a Breton and boat shoes, a shooting outfit, and a blazer with whites for Henley.
Each outfit gives you the pieces to copy and when to wear them, such as:
the waxed jacket, white shirt and Chelsea boots for cool weather in town and country
tweed, breeches and tall boots for the riding version
a herringbone three-piece for the country-house lunch or an informal supper
a Breton top, white shorts and boat shoes for the water
tattersall, breeks and field boots for the shooting field
a blazer, striped shirt, white trousers and a Panama for the regatta
It is the worked-examples page. For what Sloane Ranger means, where it comes from and the wardrobe behind these outfits, read the Sloane Ranger style guide.
Key Points
01The six outfits share a palette of navy, olive, brown, white and stone and a taste for rough cloth against clean cotton; some pieces recur (the waxed jacket in outfits 1 and 5, the white shirt in 1, 2 and 3, brown leather shoes or boots in five of the six), and the Breton, shorts and boat shoes of outfit 4 share nothing with outfit 1 but the palette.
02The brand names on the illustrations and in the text are examples of the kind of maker the look uses, not requirements. A few are American or Australian rather than British, and the text says which.
03The illustrations show jackets cut close and trousers cut straight. How close you cut your own is a matter of comfort and the weather, and the layers under a jacket change with the season.
04One of the six has a published dress code behind it: the Stewards’ Enclosure at Henley requires a jacket and a tie or cravat. The shooting and riding outfits are governed by the host and the activity, and the illustrations are outfit inspiration rather than equipment advice.
The Sloane Ranger look, the country-and-town wardrobe of the London type that Harpers & Queen named in 1975 and the 1982 Handbook made famous, is easier to copy from finished outfits than from a list of garments. Each of the six outfits below comes with an illustration and the garments it shows.
The history, the nicknames and the full wardrobe are on the Sloane Ranger style guide; the wider look is on the Old Money style guide. This page is the outfits.
Outfit one
Classic Sloane Ranger
1. Waxed Jacket, White Shirt, Wool Trousers and Chelsea Boots
Cool weather, town and country
The classic outfit: dark waxed jacket, check scarf, white shirt, grey trousers and brown Chelsea boots. Illustration retained from the original article.
The starting outfit, and the one closest to the everyday wardrobe on the guide page: a waxed cotton jacket, a white shirt worn open, straight grey trousers and brown Chelsea boots, with a check scarf for the cold.
The same outfit close to: the waxed jacket, the open white shirt, the scarf and a plain watch.
The illustration labels a Barbour wax jacket, a Turnbull & Asser white dress shirt, a Burberry check cashmere scarf, New & Lingwood tailored wool trousers and Crockett & Jones calf leather Chelsea boots. Emma Willis for the shirt, Cordings for the trousers and R.M. Williams for the boots are alternatives. R.M. Williams is an Australian maker, the others are English.
The classic outfit with every garment labelled.
What makes it work is the contrast between the rough jacket and the clean shirt. Keep the trousers plain and the boots polished and the outfit reads as deliberate. A plain steel or leather-strapped watch is the only accessory it needs, and the maker is a matter of budget rather than style.
Outfit two
The Equestrian Sloane
2. Tweed Jacket and Waistcoat, Breeches and Riding Boots
The yard, the point-to-point and the polo
The riding outfit: brown check tweed jacket, a check waistcoat, white shirt, brown tie, tan breeches and tall boots. Illustration retained from the original article.
Horses run through the Sloane world, and this is the outfit that comes from them: a tweed hacking jacket, a waistcoat under it, a white shirt and a plain tie, tan breeches and tall leather boots. It is drawn as spectator and yard dressing; whether any boot or breeches shown is suitable for actual riding is a question for the maker and your yard, not for an illustration.
The jacket, waistcoat, tie and pocket square close to.
The illustration labels a Holland Cooper tailored tweed jacket, a Timothy Foxx tweed vest, a Hawes & Curtis white stretch shirt, a Cordings cashmere tie, Glaze & Gordon tan riding breeches and Dubarry long leather riding boots. Equetech breeches, a Thomas Pink shirt, Dents or Pickett gloves and a Longines or Jaeger-LeCoultre watch are alternatives or extras.
The riding outfit with every garment labelled.
Worn off the horse, this is the most costume-like of the six, so keep it for days that involve horses, or swap the breeches for cords and the tall boots for brogues and keep the jacket and waistcoat. The VOU’s equestrian outfit ideas page has more versions.
Outfit three
The Country Manor Sloane
3. Tweed Three-Piece, Silk Tie and Brogues
Country-house lunches and informal suppers, autumn and winter
The country-house outfit: brown herringbone tweed three-piece, white shirt, paisley tie and brogues. Illustration retained from the original article.
The formal end of the wardrobe: a three-piece suit in a brown or green herringbone tweed, a white shirt, a silk tie in a paisley or small pattern, a pocket square and brown brogues. It is the outfit for a country-house lunch or an informal supper. Two other invitations call for other clothes: one that asks for a dark suit takes the smooth navy or charcoal suit the guide page describes under Dinner, and one that specifies black tie takes a dinner jacket and its own shirt, tie and shoes, which neither this tweed nor that dark suit is. Follow the code the host states.
The waistcoat, jacket, shirt and paisley tie close to.
The illustration labels a Moss Bros tweed three-piece suit, a Budd white dress shirt, a Turnbull & Asser silk tie, a New & Lingwood silk pocket square and Church’s brown leather brogues. Hilditch & Key for the shirt, Edward Green for the shoes and an IWC or Jaeger-LeCoultre watch are alternatives.
The country-house outfit with every garment labelled.
Tweed is heavy, so this is an autumn and winter outfit, and it is the one on the page that depends most on fit: a three-piece that pulls at the waistcoat buttons undoes the effect. For the shoes, see The VOU’s Old Money dress shoes guide.
Outfit four
The Nautical Sloane
4. Breton Top, White Shorts and Boat Shoes
Boats, harbours and summer weekends
The nautical outfit: striped Breton top, white chino shorts and brown boat shoes. Illustration retained from the original article.
The summer outfit, and the simplest: a long-sleeved Breton top, white chino shorts and leather boat shoes, worn without socks. It is dressed for a warm day on or beside the water, a harbour town or a boat, and it is the one outfit on this page that shares no garment with outfit 1.
The Breton top and shorts close to.
The illustration labels a Saint James striped Breton shirt, Hackett white chino shorts and Dubarry brown leather boat shoes. Armor-Lux for the top, Crew Clothing for the shorts, a Sunspel or John Smedley cotton jumper for the evening and a rope bracelet from the American brand Kiel James Patrick are alternatives or extras.
The nautical outfit with every garment labelled.
Boat shoes are shared with American preppy style, and the Breton is French; what makes this Sloane rather than either is the restraint, one stripe and nothing else. For the wider summer wardrobe see The VOU’s Old Money beach outfits and preppy style guide.
Outfit five
The Sporting Sloane
5. Waxed Jacket, Tattersall, Jumper, Breeks and Field Boots
The shooting field and the winter walk
The sporting outfit: dark waxed jacket, cable-knit jumper, check shirt, breeks and tall boots. Illustration retained from the original article.
Shooting kit, and the outfit closest to the country weekend the guide page describes: a waxed jacket, a tattersall check shirt, a wool jumper, tweed breeks (the knee-length shooting trouser) and field boots or wellingtons.
The jacket, jumper and shirt collar close to.
The illustration labels a Belstaff waxed cotton jacket, a Barbour merino wool sweater, a Cordings classic tattersall check shirt, Purdey tailored tweed breeks and Hunter field boots. Barbour for the jacket, Alan Paine for the shirt, a Lock & Co flat cap, Purdey or MacWet shooting gloves and a Holland & Holland or William Evans pocket square are alternatives or extras.
The sporting outfit with every garment labelled.
On a shoot the host’s requirements and the safety rules come before style, and there is no published dress code to quote; this is outfit inspiration, not equipment advice. Off the field, the jacket, shirt and jumper with cords and wellingtons make the ordinary Sloane winter walk. For the boots, see The VOU’s Hunter boots styling guide.
Outfit six
The Henley Regatta Sloane
6. Blazer, Striped Shirt, White Trousers and a Panama
Henley Royal Regatta and the summer party
The regatta outfit: piped navy blazer, striped shirt, white trousers, loafers and a Panama. Illustration retained from the original article.
Henley Royal Regatta, held over the turn of June and July, is a fixed point of the Sloane summer, and its outfit is the piped rowing blazer, a striped shirt, white trousers, brown loafers and a Panama. The illustration shows it with the shirt open; read the note on the dress code below before copying that.
The blazer, shirt, hat and sunglasses close to.
The illustration labels a Ralph Lauren trimmed rowing blazer, a Thomas Pink classic Oxford pinstripe shirt, Hackett crisp white trousers, Crockett & Jones brown leather loafers, an Anderson & Sheppard woven leather belt, a Lock & Co classic Panama hat and Ray-Ban tortoiseshell sunglasses. Cheaney loafers, a Bates hat, Persol sunglasses, a belt from the American maker Smathers & Branson and a Drake’s or Emma Willis pocket square are alternatives. A real rowing blazer belongs to a club, and a piped navy blazer from any maker stands in for one.
The regatta outfit with every garment labelled.
The dress code. The Regatta’s Stewards’ Enclosure requires men to wear “lounge suits, or jackets or blazers with trousers, together with a tie or, if preferred, a cravat”, and admits nobody in shorts or jeans; the Regatta Enclosure has no dress code. So the outfit as illustrated is fine on the towpath and in the Regatta Enclosure, and needs a tie or cravat added for the Stewards’ Enclosure. For more on the blazer, see The VOU’s Old Money blazer guide and summer preppy outfits.
Choosing between them
Which One Should You Wear?
Option one
You want the everyday version
Outfit 1, the waxed jacket with a white shirt, plain trousers and Chelsea boots. It covers cool weather in town and country; its white shirt turns up again in the riding and country-house outfits and its waxed jacket in the shooting outfit.
Option two
You have a summer invitation
Outfit 6 for a summer party or a regatta, adding a tie where the enclosure asks for one; outfit 4 for a warm day on or beside the water.
Option three
You are going to the country
Outfit 5 for the field and the winter walk, outfit 3 for the lunch or an informal supper afterwards, outfit 2 only if there are horses.
Every one of the six is built from the wardrobe on the Sloane Ranger style guide, which also has the wardrobe by season and by occasion; the makers are collected in The VOU’s British Old Money brands guide and the core pieces in Old Money wardrobe essentials.
Next step
Before You Copy One
Which of the palette’s colours sit best against your face, and which cuts suit your build, are questions about you rather than about the outfits. The VOU’s seasonal colour quiz and body shape quiz are optional starting points for those two questions; neither replaces trying the clothes on. For a second opinion on your own wardrobe, The VOU’s directory of image consultants and stylists lists people who do this for a living.
Sources
Where This Comes From
The six outfits are illustrations with their brand labels transcribed as shown, and their authorship was not verified. All brands named, in the illustrations and in the text, are examples rather than endorsements or verified product identifications. The style guide keeps its photographs of named men with what the photographs show, and The VOU’s Old Money style icons page has the wider list.
The Henley dress-code quotation is from the Regatta’s own Stewards’ Enclosure dress code page, and the absence of a code in the Regatta Enclosure from the Regatta Enclosure page. The origin of the Sloane Ranger name at Harpers & Queen in 1975 and the 1982 Handbook by Ann Barr and Peter York are from Graham Stewart’s “So long, Sloanes” in The Critic and the Handbook’s catalogue entry; the full history is on the guide page. This page has not been reviewed by a stylist for your individual wardrobe.
Questions About Sloane Ranger Outfits
Q. Which outfit should I start with?
Outfit 1. A waxed jacket, a white or striped shirt, plain trousers and brown leather boots or brogues are the pieces that recur most across the other outfits (the nautical outfit is the exception), and they are the ones that look right on an ordinary Tuesday.
Q. Do I need the exact brands in the illustrations?
No. The labels show the kind of maker the look uses, heritage British tailors and country outfitters for the most part, and the same garment from another maker does the same job. A few named makers are American or Australian; the text says which.
Q. Can I wear the Henley outfit without a tie?
On the towpath and in the Regatta Enclosure, yes; the Stewards’ Enclosure requires a tie or cravat with the jacket and admits nobody in shorts or jeans, so add one if that is where you are going.
Q. Is this the same as Old Money style?
In Britain the two wardrobes overlap heavily, and every garment here appears on the Old Money lists too; Sloane Ranger is the British name for a particular London-and-the-shires type with its own history, which the guide page tells. Outside Britain, Old Money covers wardrobes this page does not describe.