From the moment I arrived in New York, I couldn’t get enough of it. The city was exactly how I had envisioned in my mind countless times. It was bustling with activities and everyone looked like a character from a movie. It was a dream come true and I planned on making the most of my time in the city. I was especially excited to attend my first New York Fashion Week this year. As a fashion lover, I had dreamt of attending Fashion Week since I was in high school and I got the opportunity to attend it thanks to my social media presence. I wanted to look my best so I went out to do some last-minute shopping. By the time I came back to my apartment, I noticed I had a new Tinder message.
“Did I just see you downtown?” The message read.
I immediately recognized the sender since I ran into him several times and thought he was attractive. However, I didn’t think that I would see him again so I was pleasantly surprised when I got his Tinder message.
“You did,” I replied.
“I’m Josh. I haven’t seen you around. Are you new in town?” He asked.
“Not really. I’m just busy with my Master’s and business but I’ll be attending Fashion Week.”
“That’s nice. I’ll also be attending the event.”
We talked for a while and planned to meet at the event the following day. So far, the event looked promising. I wanted to meet new people and network and I had already made a new friend.
Before going to bed, I unpacked my shopping bags and arranged my clothes in the closet so I could change easily. I then put my pair of the coveted Margiela Tabis on the shoe rack near the entrance since I planned to wear them the following day. When I was satisfied that everything was in order, I went to bed.
The following day, I woke up to a Tinder message from Josh reminding me of our plans.
“I’ll be at the event at 2 p.m.”
“Okay. I’ll let you know when I get there.”
“Cool. Call me.” He then gave me his number.
I don’t know why but I felt more excited to meet Josh than to attend Fashion Week. There was something so alluring about him. I couldn’t stop smiling as I got ready to head to the event.
However, when I got to the event, I was a bit disappointed. Josh looked basic yet he claimed he was a fashion enthusiast. He was wearing a simple t-shirt, jeans and a pair of sneakers. I even felt like I was overdressed but he reassured me that I looked good.
“I love your outfit, especially the shoes. I’ve always wanted them.”
For fashion enthusiasts, the Tabis are a must-have. They have been trending in the fashion world thanks to their signature cloven toe design which is inspired by a type of Japanese shoe. However, the Tabis aren’t cheap. I got mine as a gift from my father but most people save for a couple of months to afford them.
“Thanks. They’re actually really comfortable.” I said.
“They look good on you.”
He kept repeating how much he liked my shoes but I didn’t think much of it since he was a fashion enthusiast like me. We got along really well throughout the day so we decided to go out for dinner after the event.
“Should we go back to your place?” He asked.
“I live a bit far from here.”
“That’s fine with me.”
Reluctantly, I agreed to go back with him to my apartment. We ordered a bottle of wine and continued talking well into the night. Around 3 am, we went to bed and slept together. I woke up to see Josh getting dressed. Again, he looked really good and I didn’t want him to leave so soon.
“Do you want breakfast?”
“Sure, but I need to show you my Spotify playlist. You’ll love it.”
He asked to use my phone since he didn’t have Spotify on his. After unlocking it, I handed him my phone and went to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast. He handed my phone back to me saying that he couldn’t find the playlist. I finished preparing breakfast then we talked some more. He brought up my Tabis. He must have really loved the shoes. A few minutes later, I went to the bathroom and when I came out, Josh had already left.
It took me a while to notice but as I worked on my computer, I looked at the shoe rack next to the entrance and my Tabis were missing. At first, I thought that I had misplaced them somewhere in the house so I checked in my suitcase and under my bed but I couldn’t find them. I decided to contact Josh to ask if he had seen them anywhere but I got the biggest shock of my life.
Josh was unusually fixated on my shoes. He couldn’t stop talking about them even when we woke up the following morning. I simply thought that he was really impressed by them. However, I should have been more cautious about him, especially since he contacted me through Tinder. That’s an immediate red flag. There were other red flags like how he said he was into fashion but didn’t make an effort to dress up for Fashion Week.
I went back on Tinder to see if I could find him and ask about my shoes but he had unmatched me. He also deleted his number and text messages from my phone when he was pretending to look for a Spotify playlist. Luckily, I had taken a screenshot of his Tinder profile before he unmatched me which is what I used to warn other people on TikTok to stay away from that guy.
After posting a video on TikTok, the story went viral and people helped me track down the culprit. They sent me his number and Instagram account. I also found out that Josh had a girlfriend and she had posted a picture wearing the same Tabis I lost. I couldn’t just let my $1000 designer shoes go like that so I confronted Josh. He obviously denied stealing my shoes but after a heated exchange, he admitted it and agreed to return them.
During the exchange, he didn’t seem remorseful. In fact, he kept shrugging when I asked him why he did it.
“I didn’t think you would catch me.” He answered.
I have since deleted my Tinder account but I’m on other dating apps. I also keep my designer shoes locked in a closet.
This story is loosely based on a Twitter story which you can find here.
You can watch the viral video here.
@nextlevellexuss Girls and gays of TikTok please get to work 😭 #nycdating #tinderhorrorstories #hingedating #margielatabis #nyc#greenscreen
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