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A sanctuary for fed-up cosmopolitan women who’ve walked their last stiletto steps, French Sole is an oasis of ballet flats. The walls are jam-packed from floor to ceiling with identical pink shoeboxes. (Indeed, the surreal tiny space can trigger something akin to a psychic bunion.) Inside those boxes are more than two dozen variations of one kind of footwear. Some flats are a bit tacky (leopard prints in questionable colors, gaudy floral patterns); others are more stylish (timeless solids, trendy metallics). But with prices inching up as high as $350, your extravagant new pair of ballet flats just might usurp your old slingbacks in the end. — Melissa Noble

End-of-season sales in January, July, and August feature a large selection marked down 30 to 50 percent.

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