DIANA’S LOST CITY
In the 20 years since her death, the London that Princess Diana knew has changed – a lot. Beyond recognition? SOPHIE CAMPBELL steps out in pearls and Puffa jacket to find out失去戴安娜之後的倫敦
It’s been 20 years since Princess Diana’s death. SOPHIE CAMPBELL explores how her London postcode has changed
自從戴安娜王妃香殞消玉 之後， 20年匆匆而過，她昔日經常連流 其間的倫敦，亦已歷經變遷，幾乎面目全非。Sophie Campbell戴上珍珠頸鏈、穿上羽絨外套，走街上 頭一看究竟
Sometime in 2008, with very little fuss, a muchloved Sloane Street institution called The General Trading Company, or GTC, slipped quietly beneath the waves. It took with it a London indelibly associated with the young Diana Spencer, before and during the early years of her marriage to Prince Charles, and with it a 1980s cultural phenomenon known as the Sloane Ranger.
Today, Sloane Street is a narrow road that runs like a spine from the residential and retail quartier of Knightsbridge south to the almost-as-expensive but more villagey Chelsea and its main shopping drag, the King’s Road.
In Diana’s day it was the epicentre of an area of southwest London patrolled by young women in frilly collars, velvet knickerbockers and strings of inherited pearls. Fresh-faced men wore country clothing their grandfathers might – and probably did – own: baggy corduroy trousers in shades of toffee, brogues, V-neck pastel sweaters over checked shirts, short back-andsides hair and, alarmingly, no deodorant.
They had their wedding lists at the utterly sensible Peter Jones on Sloane Square or, if their friends were richer, at GTC, which was wildly exotic by comparison: an emporium of Oriental (never ‘Asian’ or ‘Middle Eastern’) influenced goods, from kilims (carpets) to silk cushions.
‘Sloanes’, as they were nicknamed – occasionally affectionately, usually derisively – were broadly in the upper quartile of English society and Diana was their patron saint, being a genuine aristocrat, pretty and ultra-English. She was demurely, even frumpily, dressed until she reached her soignée maturity. The Sloanes’ only foreign equivalent (sort of ) was the preppy style of their counterparts in the US.
Sloanes watched Brideshead Revisited, listened to Duran Duran and bought taffeta ball dresses from Tatters (for the rich) and Bellville Sassoon (for the very rich). The apogee was Diana’s vast, rumpled wedding dress, made by Elizabeth and David Emanuel – the former still has a shop in Mayfair.
The bible was The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook (1982), written by Peter York, who is still a social arbiter, and the late Ann Barr. I have a copy on my desk and it’s only now, with the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death, that I realise how young and how pensive she looks on the cover, in her off-the-shoulder frills, feathered bob and multi-strand pearl choker – and how utterly the London that she knew has changed.
For a start, ‘central London’ has doubled in size. The Sloane universe was Clapham, Fulham or Pimlico for first flats, Chelsea or Knightsbridge if you were lucky after marriage, and the City for work. The world their children live in, beyond Tower Bridge in the nowpricey East End, was terra incognita. Islington was odd. Today’s hot neighbourhoods – New Cross and Peckham in the southeast – were known, if at all, for crime. Brixton to them meant race riots.
And where are the Sloane Rangers themselves? Peter York wrote recently in Prospect magazine: ‘By 2000, London was becoming the first international city of the global super-rich. Since then, London’s
2008年某的 一天，位於斯隆街上、深受歡迎的老後氣， 來才蛻變成時尚優雅成的 熟女性。在外國唯一高品級家 店The General Trading Company可斯與隆族相提並論的，大概是流行於美國流上 社會（簡稱GTC）悄然倒閉，沒並 有起引 公眾太多公子小姐之間的preppy風格了。
的注關 。隨著這間公司而消失的，是與一個 戴斯隆族看愛 電視劇《故園風雨後》喜、 歡聽安密娜 不可分的倫敦。那個倫敦裡面有婚前Duran Duran樂隊歌的 ，家境富裕的人在Tatters服裝和剛與查理斯王子結婚不久的年輕戴安娜史． 賓沙，店選購塔夫綢製縫 的晚，禮服 至於家財萬貫的，就到還由有 1980年開代 始蔚為風氣的「隆」斯 族 文化現象。Bellville Sassoon置裝。Bellville Sassoon的顛作峰之 ，
今時今日的斯隆街，條是一 狹窄的街道，筆地直 就是安戴 娜身上那一襲闊袖蓬裙、拖著長長後襬的嫁貫穿住宅及商店林立的騎士橋區南部，以及幾乎同衣自，出 Elizabeth及David Emanuel手筆前， 者目前仍樣昂貴但鄉村氣息較為濃厚的切爾西區和購物勝地然在梅菲爾開設店專門 。
國王路。想深入了解斯隆族的話，於19 82 年出版
在安戴 娜生前年的 代，這裡是倫敦西南部斯隆族出的《The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook》（斯隆族官沒的中心；街上往來的行人中，見可以 到許多身穿荷葉邊式手冊）是必讀，著作作者是目前仍在社交界甚具權威領的上衣及天鵝絨燈籠褲的年輕，戴傳女子 頸著珍上 家 的Peter York及已故的Ann Barr。我的檯頭著放 這本書，珠頸鏈。至於那些年輕男子則帶面 稚氣，穿身 他們祖父可是直到戴安娜逝世20年後的今天，我才覺察到，當時那個年鄉代的 村：服飾 褐色的寬鬆燈芯絨褲、雕花皮鞋、封面上身穿露肩打波浪摺衣上 、梳著頭一 蓬鬆俏麗短格子襯衫外罩粉色V字領，毛衣頂著一頭利落短髮。令人髮、戴著多層珠珍 項戴看鏈的 安娜 起來是多麼輕年 而憂擔憂的，是他們並不介意身上的汗臭，沒有使用止汗日。鬱，而她所熟悉的倫敦亦已經徹底改變了。
他們發給朋友的結婚禮物清，單 是到斯隆廣場內首先，所謂「倫敦市中心」積的面 已比昔日增加非常實惠的Peter Jones百貨公司去選購；如送果 禮的一倍。以往在隆斯 族的世界裡，就是於Clapham、富親友家境再富裕一點，就會到更具異國情風 的GTC去勒姆或Pimlico區購置首個公寓單位，婚後如果運氣挑禮物，這家店裡堆滿洋溢東方（絕對不亞是「 洲」好的話，就可搬到切爾西或騎士橋地區，同時在市中或「中東」）色彩的貨品，從kilims薄地毯到靠絲綢 墊，心區作工 。他們的兒女生活的世界，範圍不會越過塔應有盡有。橋以東；今時今日地高價 昂的東區，當年對他們來說
這些出身英國流上 社會的人，被人稱為「斯隆族，」 是未知的領。域 Islington區是更 怪異的。位於倫敦語氣偶爾帶著親暱，不過通常是諷多都 嘲 居 。戴安娜可東的南 New Cross和Peckham，今日是非常搶手的地說是這個族群的偶像，出身貴族、年輕漂亮，而且身渾 段，昔日則被視為罪惡溫床至， 於Brixton區對， 他們散發國英 氣質。戴安娜早年衣著端莊保守，甚至略顯來說那裡只有種族騷亂。 老氣，後來才蛻變成時尚優雅的成熟女性。在外國唯一 可與斯隆族相提並論的，大概是流行於美國上流社會 公子小姐之間的preppy風格了。 斯隆族愛看電視劇《故園風雨後》、喜歡聽 Duran Duran樂隊的歌，家境富裕的人在Tatters服裝 店選購塔夫綢縫製的晚禮服，至於家財萬貫的，就到 Bellville Sassoon置裝。Bellville Sassoon的顛峰之作， 就是戴安娜身上那一襲闊袖蓬裙、拖著長長後襬的嫁 衣，出自Elizabeth及David Emanuel手筆，前者目前仍 然在梅菲爾開設專門店。 想深入了解斯隆族的話，於1982年出版 的《The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook》（斯隆族官 式手冊）是必讀著作，作者是目前仍在社交界甚具權威 的Peter York及已故的Ann Barr。我的檯頭放著這本書，可是直到戴安娜逝世20年後的今天，我才覺察到，當時 封面上身穿露肩打波浪摺上衣、梳著一頭蓬鬆俏麗短 髮、戴著多層珍珠項鏈的戴安娜看起來是多麼年輕而憂鬱，而她所熟悉的倫敦亦已經徹底改變了。 首先，所謂「倫敦市中心」的面積已比昔日增加 一倍。以往在斯隆族的世界裡，就是於Clapham、富勒姆或Pimlico區購置首個公寓單位，婚後如果運氣 好的話，就可搬到切爾西或騎士橋地區，同時在市中 心區工作。他們的兒女生活的世界，範圍不會越過塔 橋以東；今時今日地價高昂的東區，當年對他們來說 是未知的領域。Islington區更是怪異的。位於倫敦東南的New Cross和Peckham，今日是非常搶手的地段，昔日則被視為罪惡溫床，至於Brixton區，對他們 來說那裡只有種族騷亂。