Problem with Prada Calfskin Loafers

A Resole will be in the area of $50-120. Not sure what kind of construction your loafer uses. It might not be resole-able at all. Can contact B. Nelson at NY if you want. http://www.bnelsonshoes.com/ You can also use Vibram or Topy on your next pair if you worry about wearing the sole. They can be easily replaced once they wear down.

Instead of buying a $500 pair of shoes w/ a rubber sole that cannot easily be re-soled, why not buy a $500 pair of shoes w/ a rubber sole that can easily be re-soled?

Not a fan of OP's Prada loafers at any price. AE has some nice calfskin shoes with rubber soles - including a line of orthotics - that retail below $350.

Those shoes can not be resoled...hence why I sold them after only 2 wears ( Impulse buy )
I had slightly different loafers but they had the same construction as the OP's shoes and I can say from experience that the rubber is total garbage and wears through super fast.

I have bought alot of prada shoes over the years because I liked the fashion forward pointy styling.

The OPs shoes like most prada use a sole that is molded directly to the upper. It cannot under any reasonable circumstance be resoled. Most importantly the rubber sole is actually quite thin since there are voids in the rubber just above. A really poor concept probably designed to shorten the lifespan of the shoes and not to make them lighter as some manufacturers may claim.

The uppers however on many prada actually use fairly nice calfskin and will far outlast the soles. I plan to salvage these uppers on a dozen or so Prada I own so that I may learn/teach myself shoe making in the traditional hand welt method. This will be practical since I don,t own a leather sewing machine.

For the average joe who has worn through the thin sole to the voids you may want to ask a cobbler to fill the voids with pure silicon calk to prolong the life maybe by half. but after that they are surely headed for the bin.

To the OP. Try a different brand of shoe, one where you're actually paying for quality and is repairable, rather than just paying for the designer name at the expense of quality and durability.

Thats where you are wrong. This topic was replied to previously on this forum.

I faced the same problems as you. What you can do is to get a cobbler to cut off the rubber bits and stick an entire rubber sole on it and replace that when it is time. Yes, it is ugly and I dont do it because of that. Yes, Prada doesnt repair the shoes for you. If they do, they will probably use the same cobbler and charge you double or triple.

I understand there are things that you can stick on the rubber bits but that should make the shoes slippery and are not really effective.

These shoes tend to be very comfy and the rubber bits on the soles actually adds to the comfort.
Having said that, I used to wear these shoes very very often and even if the soles and rubber bits wear out, they still can last more than a year. Unless you are a perfectionist and cant stand the sight of the rubber bits 'melted' and leather wearing out. I wear them in the rain etc and run about with them. So I dont really know why yours cant last a year unless Prada shoes are now not built to last. My leather Prada dress shoes bought close to 10 years ago, after resoling, still has plenty of life in them.

I dont know which Prada you go but those loafers do go on sale during their season sale, albeit for lesser discount, like 30%. If you cant get them on sale, get them on ebay but becareful of fakes. If its not an ebay store, they can be quite cheap because, well, Prada doesnt make good shoes. Unless you want a loafer made of Croc skin. I got mine in a grasshopper green years ago for a cheap price and I didnt really care if the soles wont last.

Gucci's loafers are even worse. The rubber bits are still there but the leather on the bottom of my shoes start to wear after a few wears.

If your feet can still take it, you can get the Prada loafers with leather soles. Their leather is soft and supple and still can be quite comfy though it can be slippery.

Heh. I actually know what you are talking about.

Actually the voids in the rubber really makes the shoes look very very nice and I think Prada use that as an advertising point. It looks better than the Gucci rectangles or Todd's balls. Like some machine track. The rubber (or is it some plastic compound) feels quite solid and I thought it could last a very long time. I recall only parts of it would 'melt' after some wear.

I notice the soles seems to be sewn on, as seen by the threads on the soles. But Prada aint gonna sew replacement soles for you.

I have a similar pair of rubber soled Prada loafers that are a bit over two years old now and are starting to show serious wear in the soles.  I have a cobbler on Irving Place and East 17th that swears he can repair them. 

 

I won't buy Prada again.  I have two pair of Gucci shoes on rubber soles, one a black cap toe and one a dark brown penny loafer type that are wearing amazingly well, there is almost no wear on them at all and they polish beautifully.  I also have a Ferragamo suede loafer on a lugged rubber sole that is wearing well after more than five years, but I probably wear these only three times per month.

 

I will not be buying Prada shoes again after comparing their build quality to these others.

 

Oh and for those that will say it is better to buy AE or something along those lines, in my case not so.  Tried AE's only to be extremely dissapointed in their quality and comfort.

That and the OP might not like what models AE has to offer. People tend to forget that although AE or alden or w/e might be making a superior shoe it might not be aesthetically pleasing to the person buying it.

If the OP finds those shoes attractive, he may be able to same money by purchasing Ecco.

^^ Pretty sure Ecco, Hush Puppies, and Geox or the likes all have just about the same styling and at a fraction of the price too.