Pre-owned Salvatore Ferragamo

Salvatore Ferragamo was a shoemaker who built his house in Florence, so start with the shoes and take them in this order.

• Last and size. Read the size and width stamped at the arch of the sole, then hold the shoe against your own foot, since a pump moulded to another wearer sits differently across the vamp.
• Sole and heel tip. On a leather sole, look for wear at the toe that has gone past the top layer, and check whether the heel tip has been replaced and whether it sits square.
• Lining and insole. The leather lining wears first where the heel rubs and along the topline, and the insole under the heel shows compression and darkening where the foot has sat.
• Toe and its detail. On a Vara, check the grosgrain bow for fraying at the fold and along the edges, and the plaque at its centre should sit flat with the lettering readable. On a Gancini loafer, check the edges of the hardware for plating rubbed through to the base metal.

Start with the pumps, loafers and flats, the kind of Ferragamo you wear to work and back. The Vara pump and the Gancini loafer are the shapes you will place from across a room, and the flats follow the same details on a lower heel.

Not everything from the house at Kove goes on your feet. In accessories, start with the belts with the Gancini buckle and the silk scarves. The bags put that same buckle on a structured leather body, so check its edges as you would on a loafer. On the clothing, Italian ready-to-wear, check the seams and the lining before you check the label. Condition is described piece by piece, and where a laboratory document exists the page says so.

Each piece at Kove carries its final published price.