Conflict Cafe @ Imperial War Museum London and OOTD

Working 9-5 has it's advantages but sometimes things come up during the week that are worth booking some leave for.

The Conflict Cafe at the Imperial War Museum London, part of #womenswork100, was an opportunity to discover some interesting aspects of women's lives of WW1, hear stories and look at artifacts from the time.

Hosted in the terrace in the museum, I was greeted by a member of staff who explained how the set up worked and which tables were tackling the various topics.

One table was a group of experts talking about female artists and photographers and their lives, they had some books to look through and see examples about the artists work.

They also spoke about how some artists responded to the militant actions of the suffragette movement and how not all of them were in agreement with it. It was so interesting to hear about these lives and see the work they produced as a result of the shifting landscape.

There was also examples of original and reproduction women's wear on display as well as this nurses uniform below.

The tables were each interesting in their own way and it was a good blend too, women's lives changed dramatically as a result of war in more ways than one.

Nursing and health care requirements were heavily impacted and women who wouldn't have been destined for a life on the ward of a hospital found themselves stepping up and into those roles.

This bandage has instructions printed on it, it's such a good example of how resourceful and forward thinking it was necessary to be. 

One of my favourites parts was the No Man's Land table where I spoke with some of the students responsible for putting this publication together.

I was given a copy of the publication and cannot wait to have some time to dedicate to it properly, it's great to see initiatives for young people to connect to the past. You can read more about it here

I also picked up this book in the bookshop and got some money off as it was International Women's Day. I cant wait to read it, must address my "to read" pile soon! 

All in all I would definitely recommend keeping an eye out for the Conflict Cafe events and visiting the Imperial War Museum while you are at it, it's such a fantastic museum. 

OOTD

I went full on forties style for my little outing. Mainly so I could wear this blouse that I picked up. 

This blouse is by Jaques Vert and I found it in a charity shop, I love the little lace detail on the bust and the army green bow with a hint of red on the edge. I knew it would work with a lot of the colours in my wardrobe. 

(Blouse £4.75 - Crisis) 

I wore some of my bakelite bangles to tie in with the colours of the outfit. 

This original vintage bag was a £5.00 carboot sale find and I love how much I can fit in it, it's just got a tiny label inside that says made in Italy. 

I hope you enjoyed this post. 

Until next time 

Love 

Lucy 

xx