A Conversation With The Tabi Swiper Victim, Alexis Dougé

By Kerane Marcellus ·Updated September 5, 2023

Over the weekend, a TikTok user took to the platform to share a drama->@nextlevellexuss is why. Unfortunately, she had a pair of her Maison Margiela Mary-Jane Tabi shoes stolen recently.

Nearly two days ago, Alexis posted a TikTok video recalling the whole situation of a man named Joshua with whom she went out with–and later experienced a sinister interaction with: Lexus’ beloved Tabi Mary-Janes was stolen by a Tinder date (Joshua) in the heart of NYC. In the video she posted she notes that she was gifted the shoes by her father a while back. Strangely enough, via TikTok, she details how Joshua had seen her on the street and subsequently messaged her to meet up as they were already matched on Tinder. Alexis agreed and they went back to her place for a “fling” and did what two consenting adults are allowed to do, and they also spoke about fashion.

The following morning he is about to head out and instead asks for her phone to show her a Spotify playlist but he says he can’t find it. Turns out that he lied to her, deleted his call logs from her phone, and also unmatched her on Tinder.

What’s most compelling about this story is that Joshua had said he wanted a pair of Tabi boots, but he barely glanced at the Mary-Jane Tabis. She was still in her apartment when he left but the Tabis were not.

“I looked high and low, looked under my bed, looked at my suitcase, look at my closet, can’t find them anywhere,” she said on TikTok. “I’m like ‘Okay, that’s fine. I’m not gonna be accusatory, I’m just gonna see if he knows where I put them.'”

@nextlevellexuss

Girls and gays of TikTok please get to work #nycdating #tinderhorrorstories #hingedating #margielatabis #nyc #greenscreen

♬ bad idea right? – Olivia Rodrigo

Once she noticed they were gone she tried to contact him but, of course, he deleted any method of contact she could have used. Lucky for Alexis, her followers and invested audience led her to find the culprit: eventually, a DM from someone who knew a friend that Joshua was dating was sent to Alexis. Turns out he has a girlfriend and he swiped the shoes for her–the alleged girlfriend had received the shoes as a gift from Joshua (there was a screenshot proving this too).

After the “Tabi Swiper” became a thing on Twitter and TikTok–due to how people began piling their opinions on the situation–Alexis was able to get into contact with him. He first requested for her to take the initial video down until she could prove he stole the designer shoes. But then, he admitted it was him after being sent the previously mentioned screenshot.

YALLLL THERES AN UPDATE pic.twitter.com/c1WJ2Ly29A

— girly teengirl (@demonicaquarius) September 2, 2023

When they met up, he returned her shoes with a sinister smirk. “I felt really empowered and strong, in the moment. I wasn’t scared or anything, I just had a lot of determination and adrenaline flowing through me,” Alexis tells ESSENCE.com.

The internet had been hooked through this long weekend and discourse on “fashion boys’ ensued. The conclusion to this story has made most of the internet conclude that men heavily interested in fashion are not to be trusted but men are not to be trusted from the get-go.

“I was really happy to get my shoes back,” Dougé adds.