"The color of money took on a new hue recently in Las Vegas when 5,000 members of the Red Hat Society invaded the city for the Fourth Annual RHS International convention.

Decked out in full regalia—purple ensembles topped with red chapeaus—they flocked to the MGM Grand Hotel from every state and a dozen countries."

"A new breed of wildlife has been discovered around the Kenai Peninsula. They travel in flocks. Their heads are red and their breasts are purple. They hoot and holler and giggle a lot. They've been spotted at parades, concerts and ballgames. They're not red polls or red-headed woodpeckers; they're not birds at all. They're known as "red hatters," and they're popping up everywhere."

"Laughter really is the best medicine. Just as a member of the Red Hat Society. "Well, you can't put on a red hat with purple clothes and be serious, can you?" quipped Pat Saunders of Hagerstown, mother, grandmother and Queen Mother of local Red Hat Society chapter #20161 known as the Red Hat Mountain Mamas."

"Ah, the magic of early girlhood: idyllic afternoons whiled away trying on wobbly pumps and oversize hats, sipping pretend tea from tiny china cups and sharing giggles with a dear companion. How many grown-up gals would love to bread free from their seemingly endless responsibilities and recapture those halcyon hours?

Thanks to a unique women's movement that's spreading faster than lemon curd on scones, an ever-growing sisterhood is rediscovering the simple joys of playing dress-up, holding tea parties and indulging in frivolity with like-minded friends."

"You know you're in for a good time when the evening's drink special matches the color of your hat…Some 160 Hatters, red and pink, gathered at Sunday's banquet to introduce their chapters, swap ideas for outings, offer fashion advice (like why pierced tongues and dentures don't go well together), lampoon aging in song and perform "Alaska's Flag" on their kazoos."

"When Elspeth Thomson puts on her large-brimmed red hat and clashing purple dress and heads out to The Blethering Place for tea, she has more than a quiet cup of orange pekoe in mind."