A day in Chloe Liem’s dream life would go something like this: “I’d wake up. Get dressed in a cute outfit. I don’t think I would go out everyday. I think I would just stay at home. Play with my dogs, read a book. Hang out with my friends and talk over lunch,” she says.
It’s not much to ask for. But then again, this GRAZIA Girl probably already has it all. Liem runs the Tiktok account @chloeabeth4545, where she lets over 300 thousand followers in on her fabulous life as a self-described “stay-at-home daughter” in Singapore. That includes running errands like, say, changing the cord of her Cartier Trinity bracelet. It also includes going on regular shopping trips to the luxury fashion and jewellery boutiques on Orchard Road, occasionally with her poodles, Lola and Matilda, in tow.
In one Tiktok clip, Liem listed petite pooches, along with a rich father, as essentials to becoming a stay-at-home daughter. “Small dog breeds only,” she instructed. “It has to fit into a Birkin 35, so think: poodles, poms, or chihuahuas.”
That absurd sense of humour, so common among Gen Zs, is one reason that people follow Liem on Tiktok. “I exaggerate the things that I say,” she explains. “Some people think I’m being literal. Some people find it funny, some people don’t.”
Her lavish lifestyle is another reason. Although Liem started using Tiktok in January last year, her account only started getting attention around August, she says, when one of her videos documenting her day “blew up overnight”. Those videos continue to rack up the most views on her account, with numbers in the millions.
Clearly, Liem’s real life is how most people envision their dream life. And yet, the 20-year-old feels a need to romanticise her own reality—hence, those Tiktok videos. “Not everyday looks like that,” she clarifies about the content she shares on the social media platform. “It’s more like a highlight reel of my life.”
What’s missing from that rosy picture? For starters, school. Liem is currently a third-year student at the National University of Singapore, where she studies business with a double specialisation in finance and marketing. While marketing is something that has always been interested in, she finds finance particularly challenging. “My dad was the one that made me do finance,” she says.
Liem, who has lived in Singapore her whole life, had what some might call a typical Asian upbringing, with high expectations placed on her. “My parents have always pushed me [to do more],” she says. “I did tennis competitively, and piano intensively. And even if I was sad, or didn’t feel like practising, my parents would say, ‘Don’t complain, go do it.’”
Growing up, she didn’t have much say over her outfits, either. Mostly, she alternated between wearing her school uniform on weekdays, and her tennis uniform on the weekends. “When I graduated high school, I had no sense of personal style,” she shares.
It was Tiktok that sparked Liem’s interest in fashion. (Her mother, she says, is “not that into fashion”.) The social media app, home to thousands of videos on style, has become a resource for young girls like her to learn how best to wear something or discover what is currently trending. It’s also a platform for them to showcase their outfits. Liem says that dressing up for school and documenting her looks on Tiktok has helped her develop her own style over time.
“I prioritise comfort, that’s number one. I try to balance between having a timeless style, and having fun and playing with trends,” she says, adding that she’s a fan of the Mob Wife aesthetic that has taken over Tiktok. Liem also names Gossip Girl character Lily Van Der Woodsen, and the actress who plays her, Kelly Rutherford, as her style inspirations.
“All the mirror selfies!” she says, referring to Rutherford’s stylish outfits posts on Instagram. “You can tell that she’s comfortable. I love the effortless chic look; I don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard.”
Dressing up has become an important form of self-expression for Liem, who describes herself as an introvert and a homebody. And while her outfits may not get much attention at school, they are a source of fascination for her Tiktok followers. Liem’s “Get Ready With Me” videos allow a peek into her fabulous wardrobe, which includes designer pieces such as a Miu Miu denim jacket and her mother’s vintage Dolce & Gabbana bag, covered in animal prints.
Liem is also big on bling. She shares, “The first luxury purchase that I made with money that I had saved up was the Perlée signature ring from Van Cleef & Arpels.”
The French luxury jewellery brand holds a special place in Liem’s heart. “When I was little, I would spend hours with my parents at jewellery stores, and I always tell people that I grew up in Van Cleef,” she says with a smile. “I would eat chocolates at the boutique, or sit on the sofa. That’s why I love [shopping there] so much. It’s always fun.”
Fun: that’s what the girls want to have, according to Cyndi Lauper. And diamonds, according to Madonna, whose song Material Girl has become an anthem for Tiktok users with a taste for luxury. Another common refrain among young women on the platform is “I’m just a girl”, often used in defence of their spending habits. After all, who can blame them for finding comfort in retail therapy, when they live in a turbulent world that encourages consumerism?
Liem, who turns 21 this month, knows what she wants. Her shopping wishlist includes a crystal-embellished Miu Miu tank top and a Van Cleef & Arpels Vintage Alhambra 10 Motif necklace. But ask her about the future, and Liem admits, “I don’t really know what I’m going to do with the rest of my life.”
That uncertainty is why she adopted the “stay-at-home daughter” label in the first place. She saw it being used by other girls on Tiktok who, like her, are young and still live with their parents. But just as she went from having no style to becoming one of Singapore’s rising fashion influencers, Liem still has time to grow and figure things out. For now, though, she’s content.
“I’m staying at home, and I’m having fun,” Liem says. “And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.”
PHOTOGRAPHY JAYA KHIDIR
STYLING KELLY HSU
HAIR AND MAKEUP VICTORIA HWANG (THE SUBURBS STUDIO), USING KEVIN MURPHY AND DIOR BEAUTY