Pet Rocks. Lava lamps. Bell-bottom pants.
For all of its economic and political unrest, the 1970s managed to produce a cascade of kitschy trends that have aged as gracefully as cheap wine. From Mood Rings (totally worked!) to sideburns (really?) to blacklight posters (OK, these were cool), no small number of tacky fads were long ago buried in the mothballs of history.
However, no cultural craze is truly dead if there are people who remember it. How else to explain the resurgence in popularity of a ’70s television icon: Helen Roper of the sitcom “Three’s Company?”
The hit show chronicled the misadventures of three roommates as they tripped over themselves to hide the fact that the male member of their trio wasn’t actually gay. Played with fizzy effervescence by the late Audra Lindley, Mrs. Roper was married to Stanley, the grumpy and suspicious landlord who lived in the apartment below Jack, Janet and Chrissy.
If the late Normal Fell’s Stanley was a stuffed shirt, Helen was his red-headed, caftan-wearing foil. Privy to the secret of their tenants, she had a knack for brightening a room with her unruly curls, chunky costume jewelry and other affronts to ‘70s fashion – and for shutting up her husband. Essentially, Helen was “extra” four decades before “extra” was a thing.
Now tens of thousands of women across the U.S. and Canada are pulling this ‘70s icon out of the dustbin of late-night television reruns to launch a craze that’s sweeping across the continent like a shag carpet revival: Roper Romps.
On the surface, Roper Romps appear to be nothing more than an excuse for a group of gals to dress up as a gaggle of Helens and hit the streets, bars, or other public venues and have a good time. After all, says Hope Brazzell, team leader at Keller Williams Greater Downtown Realty and organizer of an upcoming Roper Romp in Chattanooga, “Girls just want to have fun.”
“Most of the participants in the Romps are women who remember the show and are entering their caftan era,” says Brazzell, 48. “I’m just a few years away from my Mrs. Roper days – and I can’t wait. Helen was living her best retired life.”
The ease of spreading an idea on social media has helped to fuel the Roper Romp craze. Although multiple articles online suggest there’s uncertainty among modern Helens about the origin of the Roper Romp, a feature on the NextTribe Magazine website claims the rage began 10 years ago when a group of 50 walked in the Southern Decadence Parade.
Since then, the ranks of the Roper Romp Facebook group have swelled to 60,000 members, while a TikTok video of a 2023 Romp in Rhode Island has tallied millions of views, notes NextTribe.
In a bid to bring Roper Romp hysteria to Chattanooga, Brazzell has launched the Chattanooga Mrs. Roper Romp Facebook group and is recruiting local ladies to participate in the MAINx24 Christmas parade Saturday, Dec. 7.
“I think that would be a sight people would remember,” she laughs.
Brazzell has already recruited a handful of Realtors and other women who work at KW Downtown to join the festivities, including Jessica Borden, 42, the tech director at the company. During a mini-Romp at Hello Monty on Sept. 11, Borden wore a caftan she purchased at the local Anthropologie.
“This wasn’t hanging in my closet,” Borden grinned as she lifted a mixed drink. “I try to bring the party with me.”
While wholesome merriment is on the menu during a Romp, the gatherings are taking on an air of social commentary as they increase in number. For example, the NextTribe piece hints that Roper Romps remind ladies of how frisky older women can be, while a 2023 New York Times article describes Mrs. Roper as a “progressive Pole Star.”
“Freethinking and voluptuary, she pooh-poohed her husband’s anti-gay slights and illustrated for Janet and Chrissy how an older woman could have sexual agency,” the article reads.
Brazzell, who watched “Three’s Company” reruns after school while growing up, agrees and proposes that Mrs. Roper also served as a playful jab at the patriarchy.
“She always had a quick comeback for Stanley. They were such an odd couple, but they played well off each other, and I always appreciated her character when she popped in.”
Jodi Vailes, 38, executive assistant for the Mountain Girls Team at KW Downtown and future MAINx24 Roper Romp accomplice, says she agrees with Borden and Brazzell but feels that the events are ultimately about socializing and letting off steam.
“They take you out of your day-to-day existence and allow you to do something silly with other people and express yourself in a fresh way.”
During the mini-Romp at Hello Monty, Brazzell and four other Helens ate, drank and laughed, and then stepped outside for more woo-hooing and group photos. As they pressed together, their collection of red wigs bobbed like a bouquet of bright orange marigolds.
Borden said she was loving the vibe.
“Roper Romps are about creating a persona that’s uniquely yours and owning it. I remember watching ‘Three’s Company’ reruns with my parents, and they’d say, ‘That woman is crazy!’ But when Helen stepped into a room, the fun entered with her.”
To join the Dec. 7 Roper Romp in Chattanooga, email [email protected]. The event will benefit the Chattanooga Room at the Inn, a nonprofit that provides transitional housing and support to women and children who are experiencing homelessness.