It's not uncommon for the wealthy to indulge. But a certain former beauty queen has found a way to transform that last sentence into an understatement.
Theresa Roemer, Mrs. Texas United America 2010, spent around $500,000 to add a 3,000 square foot, 3-story closet to her Woodlands home.
The closet comes equip with spiral staircase, which allows Roemer to showcase her collection of designer shoes, furs and hats in a display you would expect to find at a high-end boutique.
Roemer explains, "The third floor houses all my furs and big hats, you come down the spiral staircase to the second floor which is where I get my hair and make up done, it also houses all the shoes from Louis Vuitton and Gucci to my tennis and work out gear... Then you come down a floating staircase, which is just magical, and the first floor is where you pick out your jewelry and bags."
Roemer says it takes her an average of 45 minutes to get ready each day.
News about the mega-sized closet starting to spread when it was featured in a new blog post by department store, Neiman Marcus. Roemer says of the addition, "It started years ago when I had a closet part and all the girls came over and they said, 'I just wish it was bigger.' Since then it's just been getting bigger and bigger and bigger, it's like a 'she cave.'"
Many criticized Roemer's decision to add a closet that exceeds the size of most family homes to her mansion, but Roemer claims to have a defense: the closet can also be used to host fundraisers.
Roemer auctions off tickets to wealthy women who come from all over the area to see the closet. Roemer's most recent gathering included an in-person demo from perfumer and Hennessey heir, Kilian Hennessey. All the money raised wen to the American Heart Foundation.
Roemer started her career with a line of fitness centers in Wyoming back in 1991. She has gone on to raise money for Texas Children's Hospital and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa in aid of Child Legacy International, according to her website.
To critics, Roemer says, "There is a man in my street who has a garage big enough for 28 cars because he collects cars, no one gets mad at him and he doesn't do any fundraising," she says, hinting at a potential gender double standard.
But notoriety comes wit ha price. Earlier this summer Roemer's closet was robbed while she was out to dinner with her husband. After arriving home, Roemer noticed shattered glass on the floor of her bedroom. Someone had broken in, and taken some high-ticket items, including much of Roemer's high-end jewelry and three large Birkin bags worth $60,000 each. In total, around $1 million in items was stolen.
