Haughty yet quite hot, Dewey supplies the swankiest footwear not fit for a trek on the beach.

Like the prettiest girl in school, Dewey is initially intimidating. Expensive, perfect and enviable, every shoe looks impossibly flawless. But as your nerves relax, and you gain confidence in your hand-to-heel shake, you reach for a Moschino pump, hoping the prettiest shoe will smile back. And they do: Sergio Rossis, Jill Stuarts and New York-tough Hollywoulds beam. Flats are abundant, ideal for an amble along Venice's main drag. Trusted clothing labels like Cynthia Vincent and Theory have up-and-coming shoe lines. Around a table full of favorite magazines are two crescent moon-shaped, bright white couches where blossoming customers sit down, slip on some heels and tentatively pet the French bulldog, Bernadette. Would a miniature Loeffler Randall purse, the one with the long shoulder strap, secure our place in the "in" crowd? —Lien Ta