HOM Style

--October 2, 1999 8 Days Magazine


Boyish, handsome and articulate to boot, classically trained singer/songwriter Wang Lee Hom talks about the value of clean underwear and other similarly important issues.


You've seen him bouncing from wall to wall and jumping around like a hyper beagle in his music video. But nothing could be furthur from the real Wang Lee Hom, closet intellectual and musical prodigy. This 23-year-old ABC (American-born Chinese) is introspective, down-to-earth and lovely company for an afternoon of chit-chat.

You're young, talented and hot and this is going to sound so shallow but tell us what's your personal style?

Well, first off, most of my clothes don't categorise me. They don't make a statement saying: I'm a hippy/I'm a skate-boarder/I'm into death metal. Most of my clothes are just kind of natural so I can just be myself and feel comfortable. I don't shop a lot unless I have a new music video or a new album, then Sony takes me shopping with a professional image consultant and buys me thousands of dollars of clothes. I get to keep them. But back in school [Berkeley School of Music], I won't be wearing those leather trousers or shiny shirts. Good for raves but when you go to Music Theory Class, it's kind of odd!

Offstage, what do you wear?

I don't really dress up in my private life. It's liberating--I can do whatever I want, I can not shave, I don't have to do my hair etc. I can wear my glasses! In my apartment (Boston) in summer--go barefoot and no shirt! Or in the park reading and getting some sun. I believe in being yourself, having your personality come through. If it makes you feel good--do it. If you want to make your hair bright purple--go do it. I'm not a fan of fashion when it is a pressure to comform-- you know, if everone's got a Prada backpack you gotta buy one or else you're not hip enough. It's more what you are doing and how you look when you are doing it. Leonard Bernsten conducting the New York Philharmonic. I love that. True style comes from within...not from labels.

You seem to have thought about fashion a little bit. What labels do you go for?

(without missing a beat) Paul Smith Jil Sander Gucci Helmut Lang!

My goodness me, a veritable who's cool!

I like the classy stuff. Simple. Nothing extraneous, nothing too distracting. Jil makes you look really tall and the Gucci stuff is cool.

You must have been reading Harpers Bazaar!

No. Actually I read biographies. Right now I'm reading this biography of Sting.

Oh God! Trudie Styler!

Well, I like reading biographies of pop stars. They make me feel less lonely. You know, in the pop music industry, you can feel so alone. No one understands how it is. How alienated you feel from everyone else. It's interesting to read how pop stars weather these very specific obstacles in their lives.

What are you best gifts from your Mom and Dad?

That's easy! My musical ablities--though my parents are both not professional musicians, they love music and I grew up with lots of music always playing in the house. My mom sings very well. Also my intelligence. My IQ. My ability with languages. There is a lot I thank them for.

Including your good looks and other physical traits?

I don't think of myself as being particularly good-looking. Mmmm...let's see. I guess my frame. My build. My height. (Lee Hom is 1.79m tall.) I can get pretty skinny, so I work out. When I'm back in school, I work out at the gym every other day. When I'm working, like now--travelling and doing promos for my albums--it's hard. But I try to work out when I can. Maybe twice a week...

But there are gyms in hotels--surely it's easy for you to scoot up and huff and puff away.

[Minder in pink tights: (in Mandarin, shrilly, from across the room) Well it's hard because of time. He got in at 1:30am last night and had to get up at 7am this morning. Rehearsals, interviews,photo sessionsand more rehearsals later. He has no time to do anything.]

I feel really good after a good workout. Especially the cardio stuff. Also I play baseball with my friends.

I see a lot of ritzy stuff on your sink. What's your grooming regime?

I'm very hygenic. I have to get at least one shower a day. Even in winter, I brush my teeth at least twice a day--or three times. I try to be good and I floss. And every time before I sing, I brush my teeth. But my room is a pigsty.

What's you favourite music--you know, the stuff you bring with you on the road?

Real music! Stravinsky, Bartok, Leonard Bernstein, some jazz. I'm studying jazz. I love those Jazzers! A lot of the Jazzers like to have some kind of a mystique--a wise look, not too showy. Most Jazzers are humble and poor but dress dapper. I love that look. They know everything about music, those old guys, but they're very humble, you know, modest. Even if they're 25 they've seen the world. If you look into their eyes...a part of me is like that.

Complete the sentences: Looking stylish to me means...

...Being natural and having a casual attitude whatever I'm wearing. Interaction with people, and speaking well, can make all the difference.

The Cheapest thing in my wardrobe is...

I have lots of things that are hand-me-downs from Salvation Army sales. Umm...er...these jeans. Actually, these jeans (snugly fitting vintage boot-cut Levis 517) aren't cheap. I bought them in Taipei from a funky, used cowboy store for about US$40. Sony bought it. In the US, I have t-shirts that are like US$4. I've got lots of cheap clothes!

What's the one thing you can't live without?

A clean pair of underwear is absolutely essential! (laughs) My fashion philosophy is if I've got clean underwear and clean socks, then I'm set. I'm fine, I like switching it up between briefs and boxers...Sony doesn't buy my underwear, nobody buys my underwear. I buy my underwear!