Sloane Street is a street in London which runs north to south, from Knightsbridge to Sloane Square, crossing Pont Street about half way along, in The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. It forms the boundary between the exclusive districts of Knightsbridge, Belgravia, and Chelsea. To the west of the street is Knightsbridge at the northern half of the street, and Chelsea at the southern half. To the east of Sloane Street is Belgravia. Sloane Street takes its name from Sir Hans Sloane, who purchased the surrounding area in 1712. Many of the properties in the street still belong to his descendents the Earls Cadogan, via their company Cadogan Estates.
Sloane Street has long been a fashionable shopping street, especially the Knightsbridge section, which is known informally as Upper Sloane Street. Since the 1990s Sloane Street's status has increased further, and it is now on a par with Bond Street, which has been London's most exclusive shopping street for two centuries. The street has flagship branches for many of the world's most famous brands in fashion.
Sloane Street, along with Sloane Square, also gives its name to "Sloane Rangers", originally applied to the stereotypical kind of young upper class English ladies seen in the area. The expression was roughly the female equivalent to the term "Hooray Henry", used to describe brash, upper-class young English public school boys, although this term is not geographically restricted and is used all over the UK.
