Rat & Boa: a perfect pair

“Rat and Boa is for the lovers, daredevils, women of the night, believers and free spirits.” That tagline had us hooked from the very start.

For those of you who haven’t the foggiest of what we’re talking about and are wondering if we’ve teamed up with David Attenborough for this article…we haven’t.

Rat and Boa is an online boutique which is yet to have gained the exposure that it deserves. For those of you who use Tumblr, you may have accidentally stumbled across some photos from Rat and Boa’s collections and frustratingly been unable to find the original source to track them down; Rat and Boa are famous on the likes of Instagram and Tumblr but their images often remain uncredited. The talented designers behind the collection are Valentina Muntoni (The Rat) and Stephanie Cara Bennett (The Boa), their rather unusual name stems from a Stevie Nicks quote:  “We were about as compatible as a rat and a boa,” yet if this sense of incompatibility was the catalyst for breeding this wonderfully, free-spirited collection, then maybe we should all seek out our incompatible other half.

Rat and Boa is an eclectic mix of vibrant prints and imaginative styles. Their style is reflective of that of the late 70s to early 90s, with an emphasis on colour and print, leaping from bohemian to grunge in a nanosecond, meaning that they are the perfect boutique for festival inspiration. From tie-dye mini dresses to floor-length kimonos, they epitomise festival fashion whilst adding their own edge, thus breathing a breath of fresh air back into the tired and muddy fields of this year’s upcoming festivals. Be warned though, Rat and Boa is not for the faint-hearted – their pieces are all daring and bold within their own right, yet we challenge you to not be enthralled by the vibrancy of spirit which each piece encapsulates.

Rat and Boa seem to sell more than just clothes; offering you a new lifestyle and sense of adventure, it is difficult to peek at their lookbooks and not to feel a sense of awakening. Rat and Boa truly embody the lifestyle that they sell, with both designers being avid travellers – their Instagram accounts will turn you green with jealousy. As clichéd as it sounds, Rat and Boa offer you a look which enables you to transcend beyond the mundane nature of day-to-day dressing. The collection promotes individuality and self expression, allowing its customers to really hone in on their own personal style whilst remaining affordable in price. A quick tip? The boutique is still in its infancy, yet demand is very high which means that items tend to go out of stock quickly…so make sure you snap up those clothes fast.

Rhian Drummond