When Sydnie Cadenas opened Luv Luxe at 19, she had $3,000 and a conviction that luxury resale could feel different.
She wasn’t interested in thrift or consignment shops, nor a cluttered store. Her envisioned something cleaner, clearer and elevated.
Unlike a traditional consignment model, Luv Luxe offers immediate payment for qualified luxury items rather than requiring sellers to wait for an item to sell.
The inventory is in immaculate condition. And she gets full control over pricing, presentation and the boutique‑level experience she wanted to build. That clarity became the backbone of the brand.
“Someone knows exactly what they’re going to get from you,” she said. “If they take the offer, they leave it. I can sell it for triple that, or I can make $1 on it. I own it now.”
Cadenas is one of the many stores celebrating Handbag Day on Saturday, Oct. 10. Since she founded the company in 2014, Cadenas has witnessed a 3,900% growth, and a 50% increase in sales over the last 36 months.
Her more than 8,000 customers have left with 12,000 handbags to date, including approximately 2,500 in the last year.
She laughs at a memory. At the age of 19, she didn’t realize she was designing a business model that would scale cleanly for more than a decade. “I’m so thankful I thought that through.”
Cadenas attended Saguaro High School and watched Old Town evolve from sleepy storefronts to a tourist and nightclub destination.
“This is my ’hood,” she said with a laugh.
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When the space became available, she imagined it as a showroom, not necessarily a full retail operation. But the market changed, foot traffic exploded, and Luv Luxe grew into a destination itself.
She loves that Old Town still has a local spin to it.
“About 95% of everything — if not more — is still locally owned,” she said. “It’s really cool that there are thriving local businesses here.”
Spring training, Barrett-Jackson and WM Phoenix Open fall in love with Luv Luxe and stay loyal long after they return home.
“Maybe they live in Oklahoma or Indiana or Ohio, and then they stay with us for years to come,” she said. “They’ve seen the evolution of the brand. They’ve watched me grow up, too.”
Her attraction to luxury started early. At 18, she worked at Barneys New York as the handbag specialist, despite the team not realizing she was still a teenager.
“I couldn’t afford luxury handbags,” she said. “I grew up with a very humble lifestyle, but it was always intriguing to me.”
College, meanwhile, felt like a detour. She remembers sitting in class, listening to a lecture while working on her fledgling company. “I was like, ‘What am I doing here?’” she recalled. She was moving 30 to 50 bags a month. The business was already happening.
When she told her parents she wanted to drop out, she braced for impact. Instead, her dad looked at her and said, “Wow, I’m surprised it took you this long.” Cadenas still laughs about it.
She finished her associate’s degree but left the bachelor’s behind. And she’s careful not to glamorize skipping college.
“People look at the lifestyle and the end result of today, but they forget the 12‑plus years that took me to get here,” she said. “I had a lot of failures. A lot of mistakes. A lot of trial and errors.”
Luv Luxe is intentionally narrow in scope. The store displays and sells designer handbags, small leather goods and accessories. She doesn’t offer clothing, however.
“You and I are different size people, but we can carry the same handbag,” she said. “Clothing is very specific. Shoes are very specific. And they don’t hold their value as strong.”
Some handbags cost more than cars. But wallets, key pouches and sunglasses are entry points for shoppers who want luxury without the intimidation factor, Cadenas explained.
“Some people a $300 purchase is a lot of money,” she said. “We don’t judge a book by its cover.”
That philosophy is part of the store’s culture. “I don’t care if you have a private jet or if you’re barely making your lease payment,” she said. “You and I put our pants on the same way.”
Walk through Luv Luxe and you’ll see immaculate handbags, but a quirky sticker vending machine, old‑school pencils, tiny “Jesus loves you” figurines tucked into corners.
“I’m like a 33‑year‑old dinosaur,” she joked. “I love paper bills. I highlight my bills. I’m very old school.”
She grew up preferring office supplies over dolls, handwriting invoices for fun. The store is peppered with tributes to her personality woven into the luxury.
“I think when you shop retail, you wonder who owns the place,” she said. “There’s got to be a unique character behind the brand. I come here every day and I’m like, ‘Wow,’” she said. “I can’t believe this is real.”
