Glamour and fun with the Red Hats

Holiday celebration has local women seeing red

By: Lacey Korevec
   Violet velvet dresses adorned with red satin bows and ruby studded pins, all topped with glamorous and sophisticated red hats, some with flashy purple flowers secured to the brims.
   Crimson lipstick and boas, along with purple tights and heels finished off the look for 21 Cranbury women, who looked classy and colorful as they sipped wine at The Cranbury Inn.
   The Cranbury Crimson Ladies, the township’s Red Hats group, celebrated the holidays with a Christmas lunch on Tuesday. One substituted her usual red hat with a Santa Claus one and another brought a holiday wreath decked with miniature red hats and purple feathers.
   The Cranbury Crimson Ladies was formed in 2004 by Cranbury resident Lil Conley, who the members refer to as "the Queen." The ladies have been meeting and eating on the second Tuesday of every month ever since. The Red Hat Society is a national, social organization formed for women over 50.
   The purpose of the group is simply fun. Ms. Conley said the members all do charity work through other organizations in town, but the Red Hats are just about having a good time.
   "We have lunch," she said. "It’s all we do. This is strictly for fun."
   The group is one of two Red Hat Society clubs in town, a second formed in 2003 in the Four Seasons. Ms. Conley said the groups are not looking to combine, but she hopes they both, along with Red Hats from neighboring townships, can get together at some point for a big party.
   With 21 members in the Crimson Ladies already, Ms. Conley said she is not accepting any new members, but encourages those interested to consider starting another group in town.
   "It’s all over the U.S.," Ms. Conley said. "There are thousands of Red Hats and anyone can start a group."
   Some of the members live in neighboring townships like Plainsboro, Ms. Conley said.
   "It’s not all Cranbury," she said. "But most of these ladies have already lived in Cranbury."
   The Crimson Ladies don’t just dine in Cranbury, though locals might spot them gathering at Hannah & Mason’s in January. Ms. Conley said the group meets at restaurants all over the state.
   "We go toward the shore," she said. "We go to South Jersey. We try to stay within 50 miles of where we are. Of course, in the winter, we do stay local."
   No matter where they end up, Crimson Ladies member Gay Ingegneri and Ms. Conley said it’s always a party.
   "We have a wonderful time, every time we go out," Ms. Ingegneri said. "You have such great conversations in the cars. That’s half the visiting."
   The group holds its Christmas lunch at the Cranbury Inn each year. Ms. Ingegneri, who owns the Inn along with her husband, Tom, welcomed the ladies this year and seated them at three tables on the new loft. The women clinked their wineglasses and enjoyed everything from soup to nuts, Ms. Ingegneri said.
   "This is our first Christmas party on the loft," she said, adding that they normally just dine in the downstairs area.
   The ladies posed for pictures together and chatted away about life.
   "We just talk about each other and what we’re doing," Ms. Conley said.
   Ms. Ingegneri said the members all have a lot in common.
   "This is a very like-minded group," she said. "There is not one thing this group doesn’t agree on."