Red Lips, Pale Face.

Dress: Matalan. Belt: Asos Curve. Scarf: Vintage. Glasses: Gok Wan. Hair: Thanks to SGR

Not and overly exciting outfit but cute all the same. The dress is new from Matalan, I love it dearly if only it was a little shorter I'm thinking about buying a few and taking them up because I wear t-shirt dresses like this ALL THE TIME. Yes I am one of those people who buys copies of the same thing if I really love it. The belt is now becoming the favourite out of the ones I own which isn't many (I need more!) it adds a modern and rocky edge to any outfit, which I love. I just used it to tie the vintage elements and basic pieces together to make a lovely look you could wear out for drinks or just whenever you wanted to!

My now almost statement red lip made it instantly look more polished, it also worked beautifully with my amazing hair. I'll post the pictures up I took (badly) while the lovely lady Sarah did it, I want it to be a full post because I loved it so much! I wasn't sure this hairstyle was very "me" when I got home but it's growing on me the more I look at it.

You can also see a little of the clutter from my bedroom here at uni behind me, I'll be sad to see it go after Christmas, which is a long (and emotional on my part) story. I said months ago I'd do a little post about my room and I promise I will as soon as I can, read: as soon as I hide all the mess under my bed.

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The most treasured possession.

For over more than seventy years this great grandmother Priscilla Smailes has kept a secret that saved the lives of thousands of men. The 88-year-old has a precious silk map scrawled with the hidden locations of enemy troops who were stationed in France during the Second World War.These said troops are carefully plotted out in red ink, the positions of German forces were printed on to the fine silk and issued to allied units to help them evade torture and death if they landed in enemy territory.

And even though it has been many, many years since the Second World War this beautiful silk scarf map remains one of Priscilla’s most treasured possessions. She says it has a lot of sentimental value for her. The map was given to her as a present by a pilot in 1943, when she worked as an instrument repairer in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force.

Mrs Smailes, of Ryton, in Gateshead, said: “The airmen used to visit the hanger and this Canadian chap fell for a irish girl who worked with me. He used to bring her all sorts of presents and one day, he gave her a silk map.“She used to share everything with me and told him she was going to cut it half so that I could have a piece. But he said: ‘We can’t have that’ and the very next day he brought me a map too.“The men knew by word of mouth where the safe houses were, but they would keep the maps hidden and stitch them inside their caps and uniforms in case they were captured so the Germans wouldn’t find them.” “These maps were also very important. I was going to give it to a museum, but I decided to keep it for my grandson Tony because he joined the air cadets when he was younger and originally wanted to join the air force.

This was a important part of history and Priscilla was part of it, just like a many number of other grandparents including mine.

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Let's never get lost again.

During the Second World War the clever people at MI9 (the escape and evasion wing of British Military Intelligence) developed the idea of printing maps on silk because they were much better for escape and evasion purposes than conventional paper or linen-backed maps. Silk maps were and still are extremely durable, do not disintegrate in water, are not damaged by repeated folding and unfolding or by being scrunched up and are silent to unfold and use, which was crucial if you were trying to silently find how to escape or where to go. Silk scarves were also simple to conceal. They were often sewn into the lining of a jacket or the hem of an undergarment. A silk map was unlikely to be found during a prisoner search. So not only were these special scarves able to help you find your way back home but they also provided a certain warmth to airmen shot down over Europe in cold weather. While those in hot areas such found them invaluable as head and face-wraps to keep the blazing sun off their faces.

Several hundred thousand silk maps were produced during the Second World War. It is also estimated that of the 35 thousand British and Allied troops who managed to escape from behind enemy lines over more than half used a silk map to aid them. Apparently there is a number of these maps still around today and are now highly collectable and sought after. Well I wish I could have one of these historical pieces of beauty to add to my vintage scarf collection, unfortunately for now I can only dream of owning one.

So I would think of this as the modern equivalent of the silk scarf map. does anyone else think that paper maps are sometimes useless especially when it’s bucketing it down and they go all soggy. So imagine a dress with a map on it. The effect is strangely beautiful. This map silk printed dress is colorful and very pretty in it’s bright hues. This dress is from Nordstrom and is a map of the subways. But I think I would really love one with a map of the British isles on, or possibly something more useful to me. Maybe if you get lost a lot, this might just come in handy. The dress looks extremely chic and trendy with its fitted bodice and full, pleated skirt.

So would any of my American readers wears this dress? And to my English bloggers would you like it if one of our stores started selling map clothing? I know I would.

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