As summer draws nearer, so have the latest summer fashion trends. One of this year’s ‘hottest’ new trends is a 21st century take on the 1980s jelly shoe.
You heard me correctly, jelly shoes… shoes made of jelly (or PVC plastic to be precise). These were the same shoes you’d wear to the beach when you were about 2. However despite their absence from fashion for several decades, they’ve taken this summer by storm.
In hindsight, the only positive things about these plastic shoes were that you could casually run into the sea, drop your mini milk lollies on them without being phased, or you could take them off and bend them at a 360-degree angle – which was pretty cool as a toddler. Other than said benefits, I struggle to find any other appeal in these bizarre shoes. Fashion-wise, along with the ‘bowl haircut’, they were always the reason you later accused your parents of unnecessary childhood suffering.
When I first witnessed the presence of such shoes in high street stores, I had a good nostalgic chuckle to myself. Like any other normal person, I thought to myself “ha, these shoes will never catch on”. I’m all for vintage style and bringing aspects of the 80s-90s wardrobe back into fashion, however surely the bad parts should remain a thing of the past?
To my dismay I started to see fashion bloggers and fashionistas not only wearing jellies, but also looking good whilst doing so.
Annoyingly, trendsetters actually managed to pull off the juvenile, often glittery jelly shoes. The evidence is vast; you only have to search up their name on tumblr to get a flavour of the potential of jellies. Allow me to present such evidence…
These exemplar outfits not only give you a massive summer buzz, but could also look great when travelling abroad or at festivals. Although it’s pretty hard to disagree that (when pulled off) these shoes can potentially look quite nice, out of principle I feel that these shoes have no place on the feet of the UK’s adult females. After all, just because something is in fashion, doesn’t mean it should be followed exactly. At the end of the day, you all remember these bad boys, don’t you?
I’m incredibly sceptical as to whether these shoes will a) stay in fashion for longer than this summer, and b) whether they are versatile enough for anyone to pull off. Azealia Banks can be seen below looking a little ‘interesting’ in her neon orange jellies and questionable vintage frock.
However, if you like the jelly look, then go for it. Everyone is entitled to his or her own sense of style; just don’t say you weren’t warned. You may find yourself the recieving end of people’s jokes, and feel a bit silly once they go out of fashion…