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Salvatore Ferragamo Cassia Patent Pump in Blue

- Color: Blue
- Leather upper
- Tapered round toe
- Polished goldtone buckle and strap across toe
- Leather lining
- Leather sole with textured grip
- All measurements are approximate
- Leather
- Made in Italy

THERE WAS A TIME when no self-respecting fashion editor would be caught dead in a pair of flats. But these days, the front row have their feet firmly on the ground, in glamorous loafers, dainty pointy-toed flats, bejeweled sneakers or luxe pool sliders. High fashion, it seems, no longer requires high heels.

The spring runways must have been a sight for sore feet: Flats were everywhere, from Balenciaga’s crisscross ballerina editions (£305, balenciaga.com ) to Chanel’s black and white ankle-strapped, cutout loafers (£740, chanel.com ) and Dolce & Gabbana’s ornate Mary Janes (£875, dolcegabbana.com ). Even Victoria Beckham—she of the skyscraper stilts—has not only embraced the grounded look on her runway with slick, mannish leopard flats, but also in her own wardrobe, stepping out in Saint Laurent lace-ups (£475, ysl.com ).

But these are no ordinary runabouts we’re dealing with here. This season’s flat is a seriously souped-up creature that has taken the heelless look into new, dressed-up and—dare we say it—sexy territory.

“Everything spoke so vividly to my soul,” Stendhal wrote in the 19th century of the Renaissance artworks with which Florence is so richly endowed.

Today, a visitor to Florence could be stricken by a modern-day variant of that syndrome, simply faced with the treasures arrayed on counters and shelves in the city’s jewel-box shops and artisan ateliers. And it can happen at price points at both ends of the spectrum.

It could happen at the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, where shopping for sweet rosewater and ancient herbal elixirs is a near-religious experience. It could happen in a side-street showroom of one of the city’s bespoke shoemakers, where gleaming, handcrafted leather brogues look like sculptures too beautiful to touch, let alone put on one’s feet. Or at the atelier of Lorenzo Villoresi, as the perfumer performs the meditative alchemy that will result in a signature scent, or at Antico Setificio Fiorentino, where the centuries-old looms can lull you into a trance while they weave sumptuous silks fit for royalty.

But my Stendhal moment struck at Ferragamo.

Joined by my friend Jessie, who was visiting from New York, I walked the length of Via de’ Tornabuoni, the epicenter of Florentine Alta Moda. At the southern end of the street, in a grand medieval palazzo, is the flagship store that Salvatore Ferragamo opened in 1937. Today the stone edifice also houses the Ferragamo Museo, which documents the life of the shoemaker who created trendsetting designs for Hollywood stars like Marilyn Monroe.

But we were there for the shoes. We entered a hushed salon awash in hues of beige and the heady scent of leather. Along the walls was a rainbow — plum patent leather heels, blue suede moccasins, cherry-red flats with prim grosgrain bows. We were both drawn to a pair of seductively high heels in wool houndstooth. Terribly impractical for both my budget and the cobblestones with which all Italian residents must contend, the heels went home with Jessie. I contented myself with a more sensible splurge: classic ballerinas in supple black leather. (Prices go up to 1,000 euros for shoes — nearly $1,100 at $1.10 to the euro — though most fall between 300 to 500 euros.)

Yet like a love that slipped away, the houndstooth heels still haunt my thoughts on every return to Florence. I imagine a secondhand pair might one day turn up at my favorite vintage store, Marie Antoinette, which opened a year and a half ago in an alley behind Ferragamo. The shop stocks pristine secondhand as well as new pieces from local designers, so you can score like-new Gucci hobo bags, candy-colored Miu Miu heels and suede Proenza Schouler satchels for prices that are surprisingly reasonable, though still far from frugal — about half of what they cost new in the designer stores. Many bags are under 1,000 euros. http://www.cheapferragamosale.co.uk/

Truly great deals were once easy to find in Florence’s markets, like sprawling San Lorenzo where stall after stall is filled with leather goods of varying provenance and quality. Sadly, that is often no longer the case. Skeptics may save their euros for a purchase at the Scuola del Cuoio in Santa Croce, where you can watch master craftsmen make top-handle totes and roomy overnight bags that are sold on-site for a fraction of what they’d likely cost in the States. Most items are in the 300- to 400-euro range, more for exotic leathers.  Salvatore Ferragamo Low Heel Pumps Women's Shoes

But a little risk at the market can still yield great rewards. Years ago, my husband artfully bargained down the price of a cognac leather briefcase at the Mercato del Porcellino, ultimately obtained for 75 euros. It may not be Ferragamo, but after years of wear from daily use, the Italian leather has never looked better.