We regularly feature the photos and collections of women the world over who love showcasing their incredibly expensive handbag and shoe collections for thousands of curious onlookers, but that kind of sharing can have its downsides. Not long after going on both local and national TV to showcase her three-story closet, including dozens of Hermès and Chanel bags, among others, Houston resident Theresa Roemer is now missing more than a million bucks in designer wares.
The 3,000-square-foot space, which had recently been dubbed America’s biggest private fashion closet, has been the subject of its fair share of media attention, which was likely the cause for the burglary earlier this week. Roemer told the Houston Chronicle that the theft appears to have been perpetrated by professionals, and that the robbers focused on her jewelry, watches and handbags, despite the probable existence of many other extremely expensive things inside a house with a $500,000 custom closet.
Roemer and her husband moved into the 20,000-square-foot house in the tony Woodlands neighborhood of Houston two years ago after two burglaries on their previous home. The massive closet has security features, but Roemer says that she forget to arm them before she and her husband stepped out to dinner with friends on the evening of the robbery.
The couple’s security cameras caught the perpetrator entering the house through the rear, according to the Chronicle, and then using three of Theresa’s Hermès travel bags to load up on other accessories before departing on foot. All told, he was in the house for 40 minutes, and the place is so massive that the Roemers didn’t realize that something was amiss until a little while after they returned home from dinner.
Media attention on Roemer’s closet appears to have started with a Neiman Marcus blog post (which is where the above photo is from) about her collection and philanthropic efforts, and the story grew from there, as these kinds of things are wont to do on the Internet.
No matter how you may judge Roemer’s use of her money, it’s a stark reminder that what we share, online and elsewhere, isn’t only being viewed by those with our best interests at heart. Handbags, especially from brand likes Hermès and Chanel, have great value on the secondhand market, which can send thieves directly to your closet.
