Red Hat Society

[Colin]

Glen, that's a tough one mate. The Red Hat Society is huge up here right now, and kilt wearing seems to be getting more and more common.

Hamish the Red Hat Society is for women over 50. They wear red hats and purple outfits. If there is going to be a kilt check, they are likely to be near the scene of the crime.

[Panache]

My Mother is a Red Hat.

The Red Hats are based on a 1984 poem by Elizabeth Lucas entitled "Warning" . In the poem a lady threatens that when she is an old woman she will wear a purple dress and a red hat. She goes on to tell off all the wonderful, noncomformist, and goofy things she plans on doing like "I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves. And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter." At the end of the poem the writer thinks that maybe she should start doing these things now instead of waiting.

The various Red Hat Chapters do different things depending on the leanings of each particular group. Some do charity work but most just gather for dinners and outings.

I find the idea of the poem to be grand. After all I'm posting this message on a kilt forum. How noncomformist is that?

The amusing thing to me is that this poem is about being yourself, doing the things you like, and not conforming. The Red Hat Society is a bunch of ladies of a certain age who all wear the society uniform of a red hat and purple dress who gather together to act silly. There are various companies that now make Red Hat jewelry and clothing to make it even more "official".

So the Red Hats all together dress differently the same way
They gather at organized events where silly things are scheduled
So by all deciding to be noncomfortist they have joined a club to be all noncomformists together

It reminds me of the scene in Monty Python's "The Life of Brian" where Brian addresses the masses and tells everyone that they can think for themselves, that they are all individuals. The crowd chants as one "YES WE ARE ALL INDIVIDUALS".

My Mom is not overly fond of me wearing kilts and standing out. I find it amusing that she is a member of a club whose main tenant is doing the things you want to and being yourself.

Cheers

[Magnus Sporrano]

Am I the only person who entered this thread thinking it was going to be about Linux and computer geek stuff?

[minimalistix]

The Redhats are a criminal organization...or at least that's what the simpsons taught me.

[Jack Daw]

The Redhats are a criminal organization...or at least that's what the simpsons taught me.

I think I may agree with you. This cult make it seem fun to be widowed and free of their ball-and-chains; thereby, providing the motive to poison their husbands. They should be investigated.

[James MacMillan]

I think I may agree with you. This cult make it seem fun to be widowed and free of their ball-and-chains; thereby, providing the motive to poison their husbands. They should be investigated.

I just went and told my wife this and she got a kick out of it..... Then she told me about a group of red-hatters she heard about that has adopted the name of "Stepford Hatters" in obvious relation to the movie/book? called the Stepford Wives....

Another piece of trivia about the red hatters, the local chapters all name themselves and like to be real inventive with their names.

I've also heard of the: Red Roses; Ravishing Hatters; Wet Hatters; Over the Hill Hotties; Glorious Gambits; Frisky Ladies; Ravishing Rubies; - even the No Namers.....

[djweso]

Am I the only person who entered this thread thinking it was going to be about Linux and computer geek stuff?

Yes but only beacause I know too much about both things.

I work at a theatre and they show up often for matinees and such. And they often start their orders with "I'm bringing a group of Red Hatters'..." I'm not sure if that is a simply a pronouncement or a warning.

They can be very nice, and I don't think they were involved in the kilt check at work incident (although the lady was over 50).

[Hamish]

OK I give in! I confess to never having heard of this large organisation you all seem to know.

When I was a child (Oh, SO many years ago!), there was a popular, if common, saying : "Red hat - no drawers!", and I remember my mother telling me that no 'Lady' would ever wear a red hat.

I am afraid that is what I was thinking of.

[bikercelt1]

OK I give in! I confess to never having heard of this large organisation you all seem to know.

When I was a child (Oh, SO many years ago!), there was a popular, if common, saying : "Red hat - no drawers!", and I remember my mother telling me that no 'Lady' would ever wear a red hat.

I am afraid that is what I was thinking of.

That's funny! I've never heard that saying before but both my wife and mother are red hat ladies and, while I know that doesn't apply to Gina and I don't want to know if it applies to my mother, that's exactly the sort of societal standards that the "Red Hatters" like to defy. They don't go looking for conflicts but they do relish shocking people out of complacency and making them re-examine their biases. Kind like another group that likes to dress to suit themselves instead of the way society wants them to. I guess I come by it honestly.

Oh, and by the way, a woman under 50 can be a member but she's known as a "pink princess" and when she becomes eligible for full membership they celebrate by holding a "red-uation". These Ladies are a hoot. You never know what off the wall event the'll decide to go to next. None of the Red Hat Ladies I know take themselves seriously even though most of them are extremely competent and accomplished women in their own right.

Jamie

[MacSimoin]

...None of the Red Hat Ladies I know take themselves seriously even though most of them are extremely competent and accomplished women in their own right.

Jamie

That about sums it up. Well said.