Angie Weihs, White Angel Queen, Ageless Rebel, Writer, Model, and Fashion Warrior

I have to admit, I was completely drawn to Angie, even though I did not fully understand her. After this interview, I can see a more complete picture of Angie, and it’s magical. I love meeting powerful women who are living life on their own terms, because so few women actually do!

I can relate to Angie’s childhood when she explains she felt she was an alien, and that her parents must have found her in a trash can. But she survived and, in fact, thrived into adulthood! I know that Angie is on a path to share her wisdom, joy, goddess energy, and style viewpoint with all of us, and that is why I invited her to join Linda’s Style Resource Team. She is here to help you grow and stretch your ideas about style over fifty. She will entertain you with her words and images, and she will stretch you in positive ways. Her playful nature is contagious! She has some books that will be published soon, and an online clothing store where you can purchase beautifully unique treasures. Here is her story…

Let’s begin by having you tell us a little about yourself.

My given names are Angelica Regina Weihs, which loosely translates to White Angel Queen. “Angelica means Angel,” explained my grandma. I was six. I cried. I was supposed to be an angel? Sitting on a pink cloud singing Hallelujah? I felt like Tom Sawyer and lived happily in my blue jumpsuit until my mom “lost” it. If I absolutely had to be a girl, I would be Tiger Lily.

“I gave you your middle name”, my grandma continued, “Regina, that means queen.” I loved my grandma, but queen? Being a Queen was out of the question, much too lady-like; I would never wear hats like Queen Elizabeth!! To top it off, my last name was white, which was much too proper for me. I needed dirt on my knees, load my dolls’ stroller with bricks and be the tough boy my dad had wanted.

My name didn’t fit! I was weird they said.

My upbringing in Germany was challenging and so foreign to me that I figured I was an Alien and my parents had found me in a trashcan. My therapist called it abandonment issues decades later.

I love the magic and mystery of life, the history of our lineage, the messages and metaphors in our names or astrology, in dreams or the countries we live in; stories that make our existence deeper, sometimes darker but definitely more meaningful. Every country I lived in had a story that opened new levels of myself and people were like supporting actors in a movie guiding or pushing me to where I am today.

I see the world as a mirror of who I am and the people I meet as facets of myself; who I am, what I love or fear and what I need to learn.

After I wrote the manuscript for my first memoir, “Thank you for the Flowers,” which tells the stories of my rebellions, I realized that everybody in my life, even my “enemies,” had given me something of great value. Love, insights or support, which at the time I often was not able to see or appreciate.

Living in the South of France and especially in Portugal after college added warmth to my life, wonderful adventures and mystery but also tumultuous relationships and drama while I still managed several successful entrepreneurial ventures. In my mind I was in my tough boy jumpsuit, but the world saw a woman in heels climbing over her villas’ construction sites as elegantly as when introducing the artists in her art gallery’s performances or when designing chairs for restaurants’ interiors; a woman who got what she wanted and was dressed for the occasion. Dolce and Gabbana in a black beamer worked perfectly fine.

Tell us about your family and your son.

“So, you don’t believe in Angels?” asked the Universe with her cosmic giggle, “here you go.” My son was born in 1990. I had experienced magical even enlightening moments before but he brought the sweetest message into my life; love, the real thing. I became the unconditional love queen of my tiny family, a single mom who traveled through California, found a home in Santa Fe for several years and settled in Los Angeles in 1997.

Portugal had given me a fantastic life changing story of medieval magic, Santa Fe opened my eyes to spirituality and theatrical Los Angeles, the city of (many fallen) angels, pulled me down to Earth in a decade I lovingly called my “purgatory.” I played the martyr of which having to hide my femininity and wear frumpy dresses in my job was a small but important part. I was asked not to be myself; by my literal boss and my inner boss, the demands of my upbringing and the outmoded negative beliefs which shad structure me.

Even when this time was hard on me, my life with my son was always in a bubble of adventures and happiness.

I had studied art therapy at the Southwestern College, which was amazing but being a pink power ranger for my son, re-enacting MacGyver or watching Pinky and the Brain were the most wonderful heart opening experiences of my life. Nothing can top my kid saying, “I love you more than the Universe”.

“There is always a solution,” I told him together with McGyver and sure enough I got him into the University of Berkeley and now he’s got a PhD in math and teaches AI (artificial intelligence) to think; not bad for a bohemian single mom. (Yes, I’m proud of him)

I was so heart broken when I left him in his dorm, that I thought my tears were suffocating me. This was it; the end of our life together. It would never ever be the same…

My daily companion today is a Tibetan Terrier, I saved her from an animal shelter In LA. I had figured she must be a tough girl surviving her former street life and called her Nikita, from a TV show I had enjoyed, “La Femme Nikita”. She turned out not tough at all but a sweet little princess. Her other names “Pinky Lee” and “Peach” are more like it. It’s kinda of cute as I have finally accepted my own inner princess.

What is an issue you may have faced at one point in your life that may have affected your confidence, and how did you overcome it?

I became the Ageless Rebel when I hit 60 as the limitations imposed by ageism scared me and made me angry at the same time. NO became my power setting out on a fierce lifestyle change, a period of two committed years with a lot of workouts, journaling and healthy nutrition. That’s when I published my two empowerment planners, Ageless Rebel and Soul Sister.

Writing my memoir took so much energy that self-care got abandoned and it shows. I am back at a new fitness regimen and to celebrate will revamp the planners for women who are into a new start and want to keep going.

I understand that you studied Literature, Political Science, and Psychology at Leibniz University of Hanover. Did you have a career that followed your studies?

I can’t say that my MA opened any doors but it added to my confidence to go out and get whatever I had my heart and mind set on. My first book in German was about my experiences with experimental theater and how to liberate our selves with theater exercises. With that in hand I created a career as a free-lanced journalist and sold hundreds of stories to newspapers and women magazines, sometimes also journalistic photos illustrating them. I still have, and cherish, my old Nikon; I always loved photography and communicating via visuals.

My passion is to create; words and fashion are my art. I also dream of up-cycling furniture but let’s put that into 2022…

What’s the quirkiest/most interesting thing about you?

I love to play dress up and sometimes turn my home into a wild mess of outfits; thankfully it’s only my pooch who could complain. Clothes evoke feelings and stories. I let them talk to me.

What would we be surprised to learn about you?

The deep, dark, hilarious and mysterious stories of my past, a 700 year old past when I was a free spirited courtesan who fell in love with a monk, unfortunately with a tragic ending.

What brings you the greatest joy?? What advice would you give a woman who is still searching for her joy?

Other than my son visiting me for two weeks on Christmas…

Creating words and fashion, my fashion stories, is joy for me; to turn outfits into empowering soul sisters and give meaning to what others might call the mundane. There is so much to learn about ourselves in why we dress the way we do, in what we reject or adore, and fulfillment to be had when we discover and own our truth and show it to the world.

The human experience seems to be a stage on which we create relationships and objects through which we discover ourselves.

Deep joy, where I feel my beautiful cosmic giggle lies in magical moments when I am connected to everything, when I “remember” past lives (and it doesn’t matter to me if they were indeed lived by me or not) and when the universe talks to me in synchronicities or people who have messages for me.

I did a photo shoot recently and a story evolved.

The story of the pink outfit.
I had just written about my word of the year, I am READY even if I am not…
Then I went on a fuzzy pink sweater photo shoot.
A little lady stopped on her walk and looked me up and down. She said “I like what you’re doing” pointing at the camera.
“It’s fun,” I answered, “to find the outfits that show who I am.”
“I live on my own”, she continued, “that’s why I walk on my own. It’s okay to live on our own…”
“Yes, it is.”
She wanted company so we talked a little more.
I invited her to a picture.
She smiled excitedly.

Then she asked me if I would allow her to pray for me.
I am not religious…But okay.
So she blessed me and in the shower of many words I heard one sentence;
“He wants you to know that you are always protected.”
Why do I have tears in my eyes?
I had realized not too long ago that I could have died several times in my rollercoaster life and that in every dungeon had been a ladder back out, in every mess there was a caring human being. Yes, I am protected.
I believe it now; thank you❤️
In this second it felt that my dad said hi.
The little lady became the gift of my day.

Joy is a treasure at the end of the rainbow. But on our path there are many tiny rainbows when we learn to open our eyes.

I coined the quote, “When you want to be forever young, you have to do young things.”

For Joy it could read, “When you want to experience joy you have to learn to see joy in every day.”

Where we direct our attention manifests over time. I have learned to be grateful for the amazing women in my life; I meet more of them because I am open and I see them. I focus on welcoming every beautiful comment, creative feedback and support.

I have learned to say “thank you for the flowers.”

How would you describe your personal style?

My style is an exploration, a process; my style is not having a style. I would describe my outfits as:

Playful, adventurous, innovative, theatrical, explorative, sometimes sassy, sometimes princess, sometimes girly or sophisticated edgy.

I love to add quirky touches, something surprising perhaps, a color combo that’s “weird”, perhaps gloves or unusual stockings, things that makes you stop and wonder and hopefully enjoy.

Fashion is a creative journey.

What is your favorite style trick or tip you’d like to share?

Feel, make fashion your friend; let your outfits talk to you.

Make them personal and even if you go trendy add a touch of you; don’t match or follow trends to the last detail. Mix and match, be creative and show who you are. Add a little quirk to elegant or classy to the funk.

Think dress up and let your inner girl play – and giggle.

How and when did you get involved in the fashion industry? You’ve opened an online clothing store. Tell us about the store and what you hope to do with it. Also, you told me you’re publishing a book about fashion. Tell us about that, too!

Outfits were important to me all my life as an expression of who I was, my art. The periods when I was hiding in baggy clothes were depressive, a vicious circle.

I was a model from the age of 17 to 21, mostly runway, some print and a lot of danced fashion shows. As several circles are closing in my life and I am reviving what I had left decades ago, it is fun to also style and model outfits for my store and social media; it’s ReBelle time on so many levels.

My short brush with punk made me destroy my designer clothes and put them back together with safety pins. More feminine designs followed in a free-spirited women’s theater group in college where we designed and sewed our own outfits. I styled and modeled vintage creations for a friend’s boutique and later, in Portugal my best friend who had studied fashion design in London and I experimented with free flowing dress prototypes.

Design in one form or the other was always present in my life.

My online store is called ReBelle, and might have some of my handmade, redesigned, “upcycled” pieces, but most of it will be designer for less items; unique pieces that give a little color, quirk or edge to women’s wardrobes.

So, if a woman feels she needs to get out of her “style,” surprise herself or her partner, take a risk or simply wants to have fun with something different, she’d come to my store. Some pieces are new, others are used for photo shoots, some are super trendy but out of stock in most shops and difficult to find.

If you are looking for something special, you are invited to tell me your size, send me a photo and describe what you are looking for; you can get your personal shopper service right there. I will find matching outfits and text you. If you would like to purchase it, I will mail it to you.

The book I am publishing soon will tell my fashion stories; essays of what outfits did to me, helped me with, got me into… fun stories, helpful essays, a book where my journey becomes yours.

The working title is “Outfits Talk – and if they do you better listen.”

I’m so excited you have joined my Style Resource Team! Please tell our members what type of style advice and services you’ll be bringing to our Facebook members.

Similar to what I described before, if you would like to expand, play, experiment or explore fashion, I’m here to help. If you want to go a little deeper into your why and feelings about your outfits I am happy to assist.

Fashion therapy, a journey into your truth where we make your outfits talk, would be a paid service.

Do you have a New Year’s resolution or theme for 2019? If so, would you care to share it with us?

I chose a power word; READY (even if I am not) it means that I am ready to share as much as to receive  am ready open to opportunities be it in business or friendships.

Please tell us how we can find your online store and your social media sites.

My Rebelle store, blog, and planners are on my website, http://www.angieweihs.com/

Visit my Instagram page!

Please “like” my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/theagelessrebellion/

Please share an inspirational quote or inspirational story to leave us with.

If you want to be a Goddess (all you can be) you have to be a warrior first.

If you want to be forever young you have to do young things.