Every year in the summertime, people from all over the world pop into our store, and in the last year we’ve had countless visits from members of a growing international legion: the women of the Red Hat Society.

For those of you who haven’t encountered these throngs of mature ladies wearing red hats and sipping tea, the Red Hat Society is a network of small groups of women over the age of 50 who go on outings wearing the most outrageous red hats and purple dresses they can find. The Red Hat Society was created by Sue Ellen Cooper, who’s known as The Queen Mum by the Red Hatters. Sue Ellen bought a bright red fedora on a whim in a thrift shop, and not long after happened upon the poem Warning by Jenny Joseph. The poem features the lines, ‘when I am an old woman I shall wear purple, with a red hat that doesn’t go and doesn’t suit me.”

Sue Ellen and her friends thought this sounded like a good idea, and the Red Hat Society was born.

There are no meetings, no minutes, and no agendas. There are only outings, red hats, purple dresses, and lots of laughs. Tea times and dinners out are common, and conventions with hundreds of Red Hatters are beginning to take place. Recently a Vancouver chapter held a pajama party on the main deck of a Royal Caribbean dinner cruise ship.

There are currently 4000 operating chapters, with new chapters registering daily in countries all over the world. In the hat shop, at least once a day a woman marches up to me and asks, “where do you keep the red hats?” The group’s website proclaims “We believe silliness is the comedy relief of life, and, since we are all in it together, we might as well join red-gloved hands and go for the gusto together…could world domination be far behind ”Perhaps not, Ladies. Hats off to you!

(We have red hats at Edie Hats in all shapes and sizes!)