Pre-owned Salvatore Ferragamo shoes

Salvatore Ferragamo vintage: archive models and how to recognize them

This is the oldest brand we sell, and the only one whose shoe heritage is backed by a museum: Salvatore Ferragamo opened his Florentine workshop in 1927, patented the shank reinforcement in 1932, and the cork wedge in the late 1930s. The true vintage pieces, however, are more recent: these are the pairs from 1978 to 2006, those from the Fiamma Ferragamo era — and that's where wearable sizes can be found.

• Salvatore Ferragamo1927-1960
• Fiamma Ferragamo, from the Vara1978
• The actual available deposit1978-2006

Salvatore Ferragamo archive models

• Vara 1978 continuously produced since 1978

  a grosgrain bow on the toe, fastened with a small engraved gold metal plate, slightly rounded toe, small covered block heel

• Varina 2007 still produced

  the heelless Vara: same bow, same plate, on a flat ballet pump

• Rainbow 1938 discontinued, reissued in a numbered series

  platform and wedge heel in stacked cork layers, each covered in a different colored suede

• Invisible Sandal 1947 museum piece

  the upper is made of a single nylon thread passed back and forth through the insole

• Audrey Ballerina 1954 still produced

  round-toe suede ballet pump, very low on the instep, without a bow

• Gancini Loafer still produced

  the bit is replaced by the Gancini hook, inspired by the horse hitching rings of the house's Florentine palace

Recognizing and dating a pair of Salvatore Ferragamo

• The formula printed on the insole dates the pair. "Ferragamo's Creations, Florence Italy" belongs to Salvatore's era – a museum noted it on a pair from 1938. This was followed by "Salvatore Ferragamo, Florence, Made in Italy", then the signature in proprietary typography.
• The simplest indicator is the Vara plaque: if engraved "Salvatore Ferragamo", the pair predates 2022; if engraved "FERRAGAMO" alone, it is subsequent to the house's name change. A binary indicator, readable in one second.
• On older pairs, the name of a department store next to Ferragamo's is normal and rather a good sign: the house sold wholesale to retailers who co-branded the insole.
• Pay attention to sizing: Ferragamo marks in US sizes, followed by a width letter – an "8 B" is not a European 38 but a 38.5-39.
• The house's pitfall: since 2006, a line of numbered re-editions prints the year of the original model under the sole. A shoe bearing "1938" is therefore not a shoe from 1938.

What to look for before buying

• The Vara's grosgrain bow is the house's wear-and-tear piece: it's ribbed cotton ribbon, it dulls, whitens on the edges, frays, and gets water stains. We replace it—it's a consumable. On a pair from the 1980s, a pristine bow is more suspicious than a slightly patinated one.
• The golden plate wears down to the brass on the corners: we reposition and tighten it, but re-gilding an engraved plate makes the engraving lose its sharpness.
• The covered block heel, often varnished, develops micro-cracks: we re-cover it entirely rather than touching it up.
• The leather sole is re-soled: this is the most common and profitable operation for this house.
• We always photograph the insole before cleaning: the signature fades, and that's the dating proof that goes with it.

What makes a pair valuable

• A recognized model — a Vara stands above an equivalent anonymous pump.
• The condition of the bow and the plaque, the two identifying features.
• A still legible insole.
• A common size, and the original box.

Sources: Victoria & Albert Museum (Rainbow T.84-1988, Vara T.91-1988 donné par Wanda Ferragamo), Metropolitan Museum of Art (sandale Invisible), Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, WWD (Vara, 1978), brevet américain 1 862 359. Updated on 8/31/26.