I grew up in inner city Baltimore during the mid-90s, when glass hair "ballies," sectioned ponytails, and "jelly" sandals reigned supreme. I remember one of the first times I really noticed those plastic, transparent shoes on the feet of one of the most popular girls in my class: she'd paired them (or her mother had) with the cutest jean jackets and sunflower print dresses. And of course, those jelly sandals matched every effin' outfit.
One summer afternoon while my mom and I were in Sears, I asked her to buy me a pair, but she was all, "you'll step on [drug] needles wearing those." And so I had to resign myself to voyeurism, looking on as my friends played tag in their jellies--they even had the ones with glitter inside the straps! Life wasn't fair :-/
Jellies went out of style for awhile after elementary school (at least, for people my age). When I entered middle school, in fact, bragging about one's "butters" [Timbaland boots] became the norm. I guess we all had kind of outgrown those fragile shoes, wanting more durable ones to establish some sense of status in our little social spheres, perhaps.
Just when the memory of jelly sandals was fading from my mind, I saw a yellow pair dangling from a shelf in Aeropostale, the other day. Then I spotted some green ones in Aldo. (It was then that I wanted to give the merchandisers the highest of fives for bringing these shoes back in style). Instead of the squishy soles of our youth, plastic sandals are now reinforced with hard bottoms--totally upcycled if you ask me.
And so, the love story between me and these sandals is nearing its culmination; I plan to wear them on a sun-bleached sidewalk somewhere in the middle of a city summer :-)
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