California Apparel News

It's not often you come across a shoe that is fashionable and practical at the same time.

But Rhea Footwear fits the bill. The new Los Angeles company, which is trying to raise $33,000 by March 3 on Kickstarter for its launch, has a basic line of shoes with specially designed soles that won't slip on wet ground, snow or ice.

The men behind the shoes are Paul Ahn and John Lee. They met while students at Cornell University. Ahn, who graduated last year with a degree in economics, is a second-generation shoe maker. His family for decades had a business-to-business operation that manufactured shoes for people working in slippery conditions, such as in restaurant kitchens or hospitals.

But Ahn decided to take the non-skid technology one step further to make it work on snow and ice. He worked with his family's company SSR and developed the Grip-tech sole.

This kind of shoe is appreciated by people like me who grew up in Colorado and spent a fair amount of time negotiating my way over snow-packed sidewalks. Try going to a cocktail party wearing high heels in the middle of a snow storm. You don't. You end up lacing up your hiking boots and carrying a pair of heels in your purse.

"We thought we could bring this to the consumer market while keeping the shoe stylish," Ahn said.

Right now styles are pretty basic. One style, three colors, for women. Two styles and six colors for men. Ahn said if they get enough money to start up the line, they will be adding more styles by October.

The shoes are priced reasonably, under $125, and can be purchased with a discount if bought on Kickstarter.

I think these shoes are what residents in Georgia may need to deal with all that snow down there.