I Love My Jelly Shoes

I’ve always had a thing for jelly shoes. When I was a child, my little sister and I would get a new pair every summer, scrutinously shopping through the clear rubbery options available at Gap Kids. We usually mutually decided on the most glittery, magical-looking pair, though I always insisted she gets a different color, so we weren’t totally matching (lame).

Today, my sister wouldn’t be caught dead in Jelly shoes, but I still adore them, and I’m not alone. Jellies started to resurface again in 2012, appearing on celebs like Anne Hathaway and Azelia Banks and in the collections of designers like Marni, Diane Von Furstenburg, and Givenchy. Even Chanel created a pair of baby pink opaque jellies for $12. From that point on to my delight, glittery plastic shoes have once again graced shop shelves.

My current grown-up jellies (a pair of JuJu’s I picked up last summer from American Apparel) are almost an exact replica of the glittery magical shoes I sported as a child. They feel the same, they look about the same, and they even smell the same! That being said, there are a ton of non-childlike styles and shapes out there; I’m just nostalgic about shoes.

But nostalgia isn’t the only reason I keep coming back to jellies. They’re surprisingly comfortable, easy to walk in and look cute with everything from shorts to casual dresses. Sometimes I even break the cardinal fashion rule (is it even a rule anymore?) and wear them with patterned socks underneath. I’ve always been a bit of a flip flop hater, so for me, jellies are also the perfect beach/pool shoe, and they’re even flexible enough that they don’t irritate my super painful bunion. You get it, right?

With spring on the way, here are a few options for fellow jelly-lovers.