Archival Consumed: Red Hat Society

A great deal of attention and study have been devoted to individuals who, as a result of feeling marginalized by mainstream culture, adopt a recognizable visual look and form a new social group. Take the 1979 book ”Subculture: The Meaning of Style,” in which Dick Hebdige deconstructed punks, mods, teddy boys and others. Hebdige called them ”spectacular subcultures,” and his observations apply to any number of groups, from goths to skateboarders to b-boys. Communicating ”significant difference,” as well as group identity, Hebdige wrote, ”is the ‘point’ behind the style of all spectacular subcultures.” It almost goes without saying that nearly all of these groups were and are made up of young people, and that these days much of the studying is done by marketers, professional trend-spotters and a huge chunk of the entertainment industry.

Which raises an obvious point: youth culture hardly seems marginalized from mainstream society lately; the mainstream is obsessed with youth. If you want to see a marginalized class that has formed a modern ”spectacular subculture,” then look at the Red Hat Society, notable for bright costumes, exuberant group behavior and the fact that it is made up of women age 50 and older. Here the subculture motive is to challenge the way that society expects older women to behave. ”It’s a very genuine feeling — ‘You need to get off the stage now and go sit somewhere in the back,’ ” says Sue Ellen Cooper, the 60-year-old ”founder and exalted queen mother” of the society. ”Well, no, I’ll tell you when I’m ready to do that.” Founded in 1998, the society now has about 850,000 members worldwide. It also operates a 3,000-square-foot retail shop, has 26 licensing deals and sells hundreds of products through department and specialty stores as well as through its Web site, including at least 30 varieties of actual red hats.

Cooper says that this is not what she expected to happen. The story goes that she bought a red fedora in a Tucson, Ariz., thrift store in 1997, on a whim. Then she gave red hats to a few friends as birthday gifts, rounded up a group to wear the hats, along with purple dresses, to a tearoom. Subsequent gatherings followed, and a handful of articles sparked the formation of more chapters, which led to more media stories and more chapters; there are more than 36,000 now. What these women do when they meet is, basically, goof off. Fred Cohen, of the film-production company Creative Presentations, has been working on a Red Hat documentary, recording Red Hatters engaged in everything from drum circles to fashion shows to dance parties to huge conventions at which they gather in the thousands. He has also interviewed health care experts on the benefits of all this open-ended fun and belonging. ”Something about being in a purple dress and red hat makes them free,” he says. ”It’s a badge.”

Early on, Cooper recalls, members wanted T-shirts and sweatshirts, as well as suitable hats. When third-party companies started to pop up to meet those needs, Cooper figured it was time for the Red Hat Society to start making official products. It may seem odd that a social group would acquire a commodity element. But as Hebdige pointed out, back in the 1970’s, even the most rebellious subcultures were on some level consumption-based. Each ”communicates through commodities even if the meanings attached to those commodities are purposefully distorted or overthrown,” he wrote. The ”most mundane objects” can be subverted and ”take on a symbolic dimension” — like a safety pin. Or a red hat. And thus the extensive line of Red Hat stuff, from shoes made by Keds to pricey jewelry to a best-selling book and even a lifestyle magazine.

One difference is that the Red Hat Society is based on humor and camaraderie, without stridency and anger. It’s also inclusive, with none of the usual subculture hierarchies based on who is authentic and who is a poseur. Women who are not yet 50 can become Pink Hatters — getting in on the scene as they wait to cross the threshold to full membership. This may be the most subversive aspect of the Red Hat Society — it’s a subculture that does not lose power or meaning as its membership grows, but rather gains even more. ”The whole idea,” Cooper says, ”is, O.K, so it’s a little silly, but it’s for us, and we’re not hurting anybody — and don’t you wish you could be one of us?”

[This installment of the Consumed column appeared in the January 30, 2005, New York Times Magazine; it was posted on this site some time much later, despite the fiddled-with time/date stamp.]