It seems like getting dressed would be simple if everything had to be red or purple. But as local Red Hat Society Ladies prepared for an outing on Aug. 21, it seemed their options were endless -- proving that women are never too old to play dress up.

Hats were passed from head to head and red feather boas were swapped out for carefully tied purple scarves, as Susan Neuman of Hanford stood at the center orchestrating it all.

"We're all about having fun and bringing back those things that we did when we were youthful," she said.

Neuman began her own chapter of the Red Hat Society in 2004 called the, "Bodacious Boa Babes," where she is known as "Queen B."

Now she helps women from all chapters prepare for events in Queen B's Red Hat Boutique, which she opened three years ago inside American Home & Gifts on Seventh Street.

The Red Hat Society is a national organization that boasts more than 30,000 chapters, several of them in Kings County.

The organization was created in 1998 by Sue Ellen Cooper of Fullerton after she read the poem "Warning" by Jenny Joseph, which depicts an older woman in purple clothing wearing a red hat just because she can.

To be an official Red Hatter, members must be over 50 while those under 50 are called Pink Hatters until their 50th birthday when they go through a "reduation."

Judy Costa of Hanford remembers going through her "reduation" when she turned 50 in November.

"That's when I came in here and bought my first red hat," Costa said referring to Queen B's.

Now she has about 16 to 20 hats that sit on a large hat tree in her bedroom.

"I'm addicted to hats; it's my happy place," she said.

Costa recently started her own chapter with the help of Neuman called the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Hats."

When they gathered on Aug. 21 they were finalizing accessories and outfits for a high tea they were planning for the following day.

Martha Munro is one of the newest members of the society and the women all helped her pick out the perfect outfit with just the right shades of purple and red.

For some of the women, purple clothing has even spilled over into their everyday wardrobes. For example, Neuman and Pam Brandon wear purple when they usher at First Presbyterian Church in Hanford.

Brandon also opted to wear purple when she married her husband, Mark, in 2004.

"Purple just makes me feel good," she said.

She's been a member of the "Bodacious Boa Babes" for several years and said she enjoys the camaraderie.

"We've already raised our families, we've already had careers and we just wanna have fun," Brandon said. "That's what the Red Hat Society is about."

Brandon is a retired elementary school teacher and so is Neuman, who retired from teaching in the Central Union School District of Lemoore.

"I wanted to stay connected, so that's when I started the group," Neuman said.

The "Bodacious Boa Babes" have gone on several trips that have taken them wine tasting in Paso Robles and to a lavender farm in Squaw Valley.

Another trip found them on an Alaskan cruise with their husbands, but that time they had to leave their red hats at home.

"Some of the husbands are way too embarrassed for this," Neuman said. "But if we want them to pick up the tab, we invite them."

Other times they stay closer to home and do crafts, play Bunko or have slumber parties.

One of Janice Duarte's first outings with the group was to The Remington retirement community in Hanford, where they had tea with some of its residents, who also wore red hats.

"It was so fun to see them," she said. "It gives you enthusiasm to keep going in life."

Regardless of what they do or where they go, it's clear that these "girls just wanna have fun," and the outlandish costumes and frivolous feather boas help them to do so.

"This allows us to remember the girls we used to be," Neuman said.

For more information or to join a local chapter of The Red Hat Society, visit www.redhatsociety.com.

This reporter can be reached at 583-2427.

(Aug. 30, 2009)