I made a new design based on the District of Columbia flag. It has rats instead of stars. This is a parody. Rats are very present in most cities now. They aren’t afraid of people. They live their rat lives amongst us. We can’t really control them. They are admirably smart. They are also disgusting. C’est la vie.

I am in the middle of shifting my production from a printer on the west coast to east coast USA made organic sustainable shirts printed in my studio in DC. For this reason the price has increased. But it’s a better shirt with more ethical impact! I still have a few of the older versions I am selling until they are gone. So for now I have two listings on my Etsy shop for this shirt. I will be bringing two versions to markets until the older model is all sold out.

People have been having a strong reaction to this design. They either burst out laughing or cringe in disgust. Some people don’t like me messing with their flag. Some people are absolutely sure they want to wear that. Some people don’t want to have to think about rats anymore. They have had experiences with rats.

One woman told me she had to wash her car engine because rats had moved into her car and they left an impossible smell when she expelled them. She thought the shirt was clever but I don’t think she wanted to have it on her body.

A local DJ bought two, one white one for summer and a black one for cooler times.

People asked if there was something else I had the Rat Flag on, so I made some stickers.

This is not part of the Female Power Project. I looked up to see if rats are matriarchal or something, but no. They aren’t THAT admirable. So this is part of a series (maybe) that I am calling #DCisReal. Let’s see where this goes. This would be DC things, like that stuff for tourists, but these are for locals. What do you think?

If you try to order from the links in the captions and something is out of stock, please check back in a week. I am getting this restocked a few at a time because cash flow.

I’ve put the shirts on my etsy shop. Here is a link. And here is the link to the new USA made Organic version.