Red Hat Society
The Red Hat Society is a growing “disorganization” of women who meet middle age with humor and enthusiasm. The inspiration behind the Society lies in the poem “Warning” by Jenny Joseph, about a woman who decides that when she grows old she will wear purple with a red hat and do lot of other things she never could as a 'sensible adult'.
In November 1997, a California woman named Sue Ellen Cooper, inspired by the poem, began giving vintage red hats with a copy of the poem as gifts to her friends when they had their 50th birthdays. The friends passed on more hats to their friends, and soon the group found themselves going out to tea and lunch together dressed in their beautiful red hats complete with purple dresses. Eventually the group became large enough to form a Society, and once the newspapers carried articles about them, the idea spread like wildfire. Ladies everywhere wanted to prove there could be fun after fifty for women of all walks of life. Today, the original Fedora Hat and feather boa is in the Smithsonian Museum and women all over the world gather for fun and friendship in the name of Redhatting. There is a musical dedicated to the Society called 'Hats' and eleven books to date. Even 'The Simpsons' ran an episode when Marge joined the Red Hat Society! |
To see Jenny Joseph read the poem that has caused all this to happen go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cACbzanitg |