practical prada

While it certainly had its fare share of frivolity (remember these studded leather spartan-helmet heels? I do...) what struck me most about the shoes in Pradas fall 2009 collection were the details that made for an overwhelmingly practical footwear collection. From the treaded rubber soles on block-heeled platforms, to the varied array of heeled wellies and thigh-high waders--glamorous in their unexpected practicality. 

While at the time I responded to the british hertiage them of the collection, with its utilitarian olives and khakis and wide-ribbed knitwear, and this year, Prada is laying it on a little thick with the sixties geometric-pattern-clashing for my taste, I must say I prefer this falls reinterpretation of the rubberized sole, wherein everything from low-heeled nineties-style platforms to embellished ankle-strap platforms and sleek patent-leather high-heeled mary-janes appeared to have been dipped in colorful vats of liquid rubber. 

Though I avoided any mishap while walking around last winter with a babe-in-arms (and the winter before that, pregnant with said bebe) I was nevertheless keenly aware of how easy it can be to slip on the ice while walking on solid ground--let alone balancing on any manner of heel. But looking at these shoes, one gets the idea that they would be just fine on ice. If you fell, it would be all your fault. 

images via style.com