arts&life

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Rebel

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line Rebel Soul.

REISA SHANAMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
BRETT MOUNTAIN PHOTOGRAPHER

D

eep in most of our closets exists a dusty pile
of worn out and well-loved tatters of cloth-
ing from bygone chapters in in our life —
concert T-shirts and college sweats we simply can’t
bring ourselves to get rid of, even though we can
hardly remember the last time we put them on.
“I started thinking about how I could take simi-
lar, [retro] pieces and turn them into something I
could wear,” says Abby Stybel of West Bloomfield,
who founded Rebel Soul Apparel last May. “The
whole idea is that there are these items you used to
wear, and you still love, but maybe you can’t wear
what you used to. This way you can connect with
your ‘rebel soul’ — the person you still are, but can’t
necessarily show to the world now. Someone wear-
ing Rebel Soul is telling the world ‘This is still a part
of me, and I want to express that and hold onto
that, but I want to do it in a way that’s maybe more
age appropriate.’”
Stybel’s process begins at thrift and resale stores
and garage sales, where she digs for pieces to work
with. “I don’t go there looking for specific items
because you never know what you’re going to find,”
she says. “I might bring home 20 flannels and 30
T-shirts.” She bleaches and distresses the flannels,
bringing out different colors in them. “And,” she

details

Rebel Soul Apparel is sold at local
art fairs and in stores, including
Rear Ends in West Bloomfield and
Bloomfield Hills, Guys n Gals in West
Bloomfield and Sundance Shoes in
Birmingham. Or visit the Rebel Soul
Facebook page or its Etsy store at
etsy.com/shop/RebelSoulApparel.

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February 8 • 2018

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