Ladies who lunch is a phrase often used to describe well-off, well-dressed women who meet for social luncheons, usually during the working week.
Some claim it was coined by Women's Wear Daily publisher John Fairchild in the 1960s,[1][2] others that it was first introduced in the January 19, 1970, issue of New York magazine by the writer Merle Rubine,[3] "Anyone with a fair figure, ready cash, fashion savvy and a safecracker's nerve can buy the best that Fifth Avenue has to offer on Seventh Avenue at half the price.
The character Joanne, played by Elaine Stritch, a rich, cynical, middle-aged woman, makes a drunken toast to her peer group in The Ladies Who Lunch.
The lyrics offer a sardonic toast to rich women, including herself, who fill their time with frivolous things like luncheons and parties.
In the sketch, four upper-class women, played by Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Vanessa Bayer and Abby Elliott, eat lunch at the fictional restaurant Chez Henri.