Something of a pattern seems to be developing with flashy real estate guy Patrick Carroll.
Twice now the swaggering businessman has splashed serious cash and looked like a big shot in front of a crowd — only to back out later when nobody was watching.
About this time last year we reported that Carroll had bid a stunning $1.5 million in a charity auction for Unicef at a glittering gala attended by Leonardo DiCaprio, Jared Leto and former Vogue UK boss Edward Enninful — but then decided not to cough up, bizarrely calling the event’s organizers a “fraudulent organization.”
Now has learned that the Florida wheeler dealer recently spent a fortune at Tom Ford in hopes of being invited as a valued customer to the luxury brand’s Milan fashion show.
But after he and his girlfriend got the front-row treatment, he tried to return a bunch of the ultra-luxe duds that got him invited in the first place.
Sources tell that Carroll — who also memorably got into a brawl at another star-studded event and was accused of spitting on a restaurant manager — had made it quite clear to the famed American fashion house that he would like tickets to its Milan fashion show.
But we hear they told him that that is an honor that only the biggest spenders at their boutiques receive.
So our resourceful hero took the hint and shelled out a fortune on items including several gowns for his girlfriend, $19,000 cuff links, $2,500 sandals, a $10,000 leather jacket, and dozens of other head-spinning goodies.
And then, as the Milanese say, bingo! Tom Ford coughed up for first class flights to Milan for the couple, use of a chauffeured car, and front row seats near the Lauder family, whose Estee Lauder recently bought Tom Ford.
But seething sources tell that once they’d worn the clothes to the event, Carroll attempted to return many of the most expensive items, including the cuff links and gowns.
Sniffed a deeply…
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