I do have a unique selling point. I am still trying to pinpoint what it is. Maybe it is because I have a huge bag collection. I can’t deny that. Although I wish people would follow me because of what I am not what I own.

Jamie Chua, Singapore’s highest-ranking influencer on an episode of “Pass the Power with Paige Parker”.

Assuming a leadership role that no one asked me to take, I set out to answer this question. What is Jamie Chua’s unique selling proposition (USP)? Putting my MBA to good use, I created the following Venn diagram that illustrates her core competencies that when working together in harmony become her USP. In other words, her X-factor.

Allow me to explain.

Wealth Porn

Working our way clockwise through the diagram, we’ll start at the top with wealth porn. It’s a noun that is believed to have first appeared on a 2005 cbsnews.com article by Dick Meyer when he was describing the Sunday’s Times: “…what you’ll find is a whole lot of what can only be called wealth porn. There are voyeuristic, detailed, titillating accounts of the doings and digs of the rich and well-groomed all over the paper.”

Jamie Chua’s ineffable differentiator is her in-your-face wealth porn. The opulence is staggering, and it makes you wonder, who would want all this stuff?

I watched the JC Wardrobe Tour on YouTube. It’s an intriguing, wild ride through her walk-in closet. We start out the tour with the handbag series, starting with a group of nine Hermès Kelly crocodile clutches in an assortment of colors. The camera pans to a shiny black display case that holds around thirty Chanel bags but you can’t see them well since most of them are dark and up against a black background. Her most prolific collection and what she’s most famous for are the two hundred and counting Hermès Birkin and Kelly bags. This includes the Diamond Himalaya made from Nile crocodiles that, according to Sotheby’s, have sold for $450,000. She refers to her three Himalaya bags as Papa Himalaya, Mama Himalaya, and Baby Himalaya that signals to us we may have a glimpse into some kind of a bizarre post-postmodern fairy tale she’s living in.

After our rendezvous with handbags, we shimmy over to the mirrored chest containing her jewelry that includes multiple Cartier boxes of diamond bracelets and necklaces, a substantial collection of earrings and rings sparkling with emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and diamonds. There are gold chokers, Tiffany charm bracelets, a baker’s dozen luxury watches and many more items I won’t list as it will just be writing the word diamonds over again and again. Shine on You Crazy Diamond!

The shoe montage beings with eight pairs of Valentino Rockstud caged pumps arranged in a circular pattern and another eight pairs of the Saint Laurent platform in a more avant-garde display. Before touchdown, we glide past the twenty-one shelves of shoes that total over one-hundred fifty pairs which is nothing compared Imelda Marcos’s shoe collection.

Her wardrobe has nine pull-out, ceiling high closet doors that we watch her open and close, harkening back to her days when, as a Singapore Airline girl, she did lots of fastening and unfastening of overhead compartments and other types of airplane closets. Door one: stacks of jeans, tees, leather pants, dozens of silk pajamas, a hundred or more bras, panties, lingerie, costume jewelry, sunglasses, and belts. Two: thirty-five Chanel jackets and thirty-five jackets by Balmain, Gucci, and other assorted brands. Three: seventy leather jackets. Four: short cocktails. Five: long evenings. Six: shirts and shorts. Seven: tops and skirts. Eight: casual dresses and winter wear. Nine: winter furs, more leather jackets, sweaters, and stockings. All the closets are packed to the gills.

NOTE: Since the podcast interview, she’s renovated to an even grander more elaborate stretch of walk-in closet space.

ASMR Quality

Her second distinct differentiator is her ASMR artistry. ASMR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response and can cause “pleasant feelings of relaxation, calm, sleepiness or well-being”[1]. Her voice is mature and well controlled in its volume, pitch range, and resonance. Combined with her Singapore accent, the combination may stimulate a gentle little tingle within the listener who responds well to ASMR. Her glossed lips slightly stick together and produce a relaxing sound while she recites the names of the mostly European brand names. A rather aristocratic overall presentation has been cultivated and she carries herself with poise that leaves the viewer feeling they’re in good hands, because Jamie’s a pro at this, and this is where perfection pays off. Her long-manicured nails, bejeweled fingers, and wrists adorned with Cartier sparkle under the camera lights. While she caresses the delicate perfumes a slight tinkling sound escapes from the bottle as a ring’s precious stone grazes the glass. She then treats us to a generous spritzing of the parfum into the air, the mist looks so fresh we can practically smell it, and then spritzes herself, eyes closed, with a rapturous smile. Her movement, slow and careful, calms us and we relax while breathing in the imaginary floral scent.

NOTE: The editing isn’t great consistently because sometimes out of nowhere a song will start playing and we can’t hear her ASMR talking anymore. But it is not important because the things she says, although soothing in her voice, are not vital information for our survival.

Build a Wall of Birkens, Wear a Mask of Glamour

Jamie shared about her difficult childhood and her struggle with forming close friendships.

I was consistently put down by the people around me. I was never good enough, pretty enough, or smart enough for the people around me and that is very traumatic for a child.
I’ve learned to not take friendship too seriously. Many people around have enjoyed the luxury of true friendship in their lives, but I haven’t had the privilege of that. I used to take that a little bit hard, so a very important lesson was to not take it too seriously.
I want to spend time with people who understand me. I don’t like to waste my time with frivolous people.

Just waking up for her can sometimes feel like going to battle with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

I always tell people I feel perpetually broke. Because it is just a feeling that I had since I was a child, and I haven’t been able to pull myself away from that feeling. Even at the richest point of my life I still feel broke, and I often feel very insecure. You know sometimes I wake up and just feel this impending sense of doom it’s just very hard to explain that kind of feeling.  

I initially started this blog because Jamie Chua fascinated me, and I wasn’t exactly sure why. She was easy to judge and write off as superficial and materialistic, yet she was so watchable. Why? Thinking negatively about her just made me feel bitter and angry. During this deep dive I’ve developed compassion for her and, despite her obsession with brands which is not my main interest in life, I’ve found her to be complex and unique. Such are the contradictions of human nature. We can be shallow and complicated at the same time. Maybe her art is concealing her pain and struggle behind a well sculpted mask of glamour and the wall of Birkens she’s erected. My practice is to continue to develop acceptance and appreciation for women just as we are. To love is simply easier than to hate, and though some ladies may not make it easy, Jamie did make it easy to like her. She comes off as polite, well-mannered, pleasant, and funny (check out her travel videos—they’re a hoot). At the end of the day, we’re all having a human experience behind the masks we wear and walls we build.

Taking Care of Herself

She’s discovered creative ways to take care of her mental health, namely gardening and her chickens.

My day is very simple actually, I wake up not feeling great about myself, so I will spend some time with myself. Have my morning coffee. Do some gardening. Look at my veggies growing and look at my little farm. I think that is very therapeutic for me. Whenever I see my chickens laying an egg, that makes me very happy.

For now, Jamie Chua manages her life on YouTube and Instagram and seems to be doing well. The most unhappy time of her life was when she went on TikTok, so she doesn’t do that anymore. A smart move to make.

When asked what her superpower would be:

I would like to have the power to erase traumatic memories from people.

Be in nature, keep gardening, surround yourself with chickens, I say, and follow the breadcrumbs that lead down your path to happiness.