Our first get-together was in August 2005 where 13 of us met for lunch at Bistro Louis. The maitre-d didn't want to seat our Melissa because she didn't have on a red hat. Laura had an extra boa so she wrapped it around Melissa's head and everyone was happy! This now was really OUR Red Hat group of silly sisters and we knew we'd grow and blossom and add more lovely roses to our garden. Our first anniversary together was celebrated back at Bistro Louis in July 2006 ... combined with a wonderful surprise birthday par-tee for our Queen Mum!

Our Queen Mum, The Divine Ms. Em, is a reluctant ruler, but cares deeply about her chapter-mates and will do right by them!

How It All Began
While visiting a friend in Tucson several years ago, Exalted Queen Mother, Sue Ellen Cooper, impulsively bought a bright red fedora at a thrift shop, for no other reason than that it was cheap and, she thought, quite dashing. A year or two later she read the poem "Warning" by Jenny Joseph, which depicts an older woman in purple clothing with a red hat. Sue Ellen felt an immediate kinship with Ms. Joseph.

She decided that her birthday gift to her dear friend, Linda Murphy, would be a vintage red hat and a copy of the poem. She has always enjoyed whimsical decorating ideas, so she thought the hat would look nice hanging on a hook next to the framed poem. Linda got so much enjoyment out of the hat and the poem that Sue Ellen gave the same gift to another friend, then another, then another.

One day it occurred to these friends that they were becoming a sort of "Red Hat Society" and that perhaps they should go out to tea ... in full regalia. They decided they would find purple dresses which didn't go with their red hats to complete the poem's image.

The tea was a smashing success.

Soon, each of them thought of another woman or two she wanted to include, and they bought more red hats. Their group swelled to 18, and they began to encourage other interested women to start their own chapters (18 women don't fit well around a tea table)! One of their members passed along the idea to a friend of hers in Florida, and their first "sibling" group was born.

1) Red (or pink) hats must be worn at all official gatherings, with appropriately colored clothing

2) No fussing, fighting, or complaining at any official gathering

3) A Royal Treasury is hereby created to help with our financial burdens. Deposits will consist of fines as follows:

a) not wearing your hat-$5

b) removing your hat during an official gathering-$2 (unless you need to scratch your head)

c) Language - for using the "s" word, the "d" word, or the "p" word-$.25 each word each infraction

(Queen Mum and Mother Superior exempt from "c" above)

Deposits will also be made from the monthly 50/50 drawing.

Money Launderer - Lady Victoria

Sugar 'n Spice - Baroness of Buttons

Royal Hysterians - Lady Stamps-a-Lot, Lady Crafter

Kountess of the Kodak - Countess of Cowtown

Angels of Activities - Lady Sarah, Mistress of Glitz

The MusiCal Gal - Lady Laughs-A-Lot

Dialing Diva - Lady Sojourner

Flower Floozy - Princess of the Palette

HRH Divine Ms. Em will entertain suggestions for more royal appointments. The more you do, the less she has to do!