NYC woman tells shocking tale of her date who stole her $1K Maison Margiela Tabi shoes after a night of passion – and gave them to his GIRLFRIEND
A woman has opened up about a traumatic Tinder encounter after her date allegedly stole her designer shoes and handed them to his girlfriend.
Lexus, known on TikTok as @nextlevellexuss, is a New York City-based creative who sells knitwear through its Maddi and Dannii brands.
The designer recently went viral after exposing her match from hell.
In a Sept. 2 TikTok, Lexus explained how her date stole her coveted Tabi shoes, which had been a birthday present.
The Japanese-style footwear is a trademark of fashion house Maison Margiela and the influencer duo sells for $990.
Lexus, or @nextlevellexuss on TikTok, shared her horror encounter with a Tinder match who stole her prized designer shoes after sleeping with her
The New York-based knitwear designer received the shoes from her father as a birthday present. They barely cost $1000 and come from Maison Margiela, a French fashion house
The man who said his name was “Joshua” left after the pair had sex. Lexus realized hours later that her shoes were gone and that the man had deleted all traces of himself from her phone
“This guy is here on Tinder and Hinge and he will steal from you,” Lexus said.
The TikTok was viewed more than 850,000 times in a few days and was captioned “Girls and gays from TikTok, please get to work.”
Lexus has added screenshots of the man’s dating profile, revealing his name is Joshua. He listed his age as 23 years old.
The scammer has been pictured wearing expensive gear, including an Arc’teryx jacket priced at over $400.
Their meeting started when she bumped into Joshua in New York’s posh SoHo neighborhood. The man later messaged her on Tinder, where they had apparently matched before, and the pair went for a drink.
“He seems like someone I’d probably hang out with for a while and go to bed,” Lexus said.
The duo met at Lexus’ apartment and had sex.
Although the designer didn’t give it much thought, Joshua said he wanted a pair of Tabi boots.
On Tinder, Joshua was listed as 6ft 10in and 23 years old. In some photos, he was seen in expensive clothes, such as an Arc’teryx jacket that costs hundreds of dollars.
At their meeting, Joshua expressed interest in owning a pair of Tabi boots, but Lexus gave it no thought
“Before we go to bed together, we talk about fashion and stuff, and he really wants Tabis and I say, ‘Oh yeah, I got some Tabis,'” she said.
After having sex again the next morning, Joshua asked to show Lexus a Spotify playlist. He hadn’t downloaded the app, so Lexus offered her phone.
However, Joshua said he couldn’t find the playlist. He returned her phone and left soon after. Hours later, Lexus remembered their conversation about shoes.
“I sit at my computer and look at my shoe rack,” said Lexus. “And they’re gone.”
The influencer took to Tinder to message him and saw that he had unmatched her, preventing her from contacting him.
Lexus searched her phone log and found that he had deleted all traces of his song while pretending to search for the Spotify playlist.
The designer posted updates to her Instagram story, including a video of her confronting the man next to a yellow cab.
SECURE!! This man is a demon. He was smiling all the time,” she wrote.
Lexus said Joshua asked to use her phone to find a Spotify playlist, but deleted their calls and erased his number instead. She was unable to contact him via Instagram because his account was private
Lexus discovered that her date had cheated on his girlfriend and stole the shoes to give to her. The pair subsequently split, with Lexus begging people online to respect the unnamed woman
She also filmed waving a bunch of sage over the shoes, proclaiming that she was “taking the demonic energy off” after the stolen Tabis were finally returned to her.
In a follow-up video, Lexus explained how she got her shoes back.
She eventually contacted Joshua, who denied stealing the shoes and offered hundreds of dollars to appease her.
“If you offer money, it means you did it. An innocent person wouldn’t give a thousand dollars,” she said.
Lexus was shocked to learn Joshua had a girlfriend and gifted her the shoes.
“I thought I could get away with it but you caught me,” he wrote over the text as he begged her to remove the video.
Lexus provided a follow-up video that showed she finally got her hands on the shoes. Joshua had offered hundreds and then thousands of dollars when she confronted him about it before finally admitting he had been caught
The designer slammed TikTok users for “slut-shaming” her, while thanking others for supporting her fashion brand Maddi and Dannii
The designer thanked people for supporting her and her knitwear brand throughout the ordeal.
She said that Joshua was no longer with his girlfriend and asked people to give the woman space.
Lexus also shot back at people who shamed her for sleeping with a stranger.
“Focusing on that and not what he did shows there are layers of misogyny in this whole situation,” she said.
Fashion retailer SSENSE joined the conversation on Twitter, writing: “PSA: SSENSE stocks a wide variety of Tabis. There is no need for theft.’
Shortly after the incident, Lexus was approached by other social media creators, including New York’s Isaac Hindin-Miller.
In an Instagram reel posted on Sept. 3, the designer was asked to share his thoughts on the best neighborhood and best dating app.
“Not Tinder,” she said with a laugh.
When asked how to stay safe, Lexus said, “Employ the man who comes to your house.
“Go on at least four or five dates. And lock up your Tabis.’