Peanut Butter & Jelly Shoes

Children of the 80's: . . . . . more specifically, GIRLS of the 80's: Do you remember jelly shoes? Of course you do. I had two pairs between the ages of 7 and 9 I think. I had a light pink pair and a clear pair. My favorite place to wear them was on any hard surface upon which they would click and slap and make that wonderfully grown-up woman sound resembling a heel. So I would walk around in the kitchen in them, just to hear the sound of them on the linoleum. And then I would wear them to play hopscotch in the driveway with my friends. I felt so cool and confident as I hopped along expertly in my jellies. Until - OUCH, damnit, a rock got in there! That seemed to happen a lot with those didn't it?

So being a girl who grew into a woman who adores shoes, imagine my delight when I saw that jelly shoes are back - in adult form. Melissa is making shoes made out of jelly material in all kinds of versions including flats, heels, pumps, slingbacks, sandals, gladiators, and more. And they are designed by noteworthy fashion icons such as Vivienne Westwood. Of course, this is probably so they can jack up the price, but hey, it's the fashion world.

I first laid eyes on the Melissa shoes while visiting Las Vegas this month and shopping the incredible stores at The Wynn and Encore hotels. They were like shiny, rubbery, girly beacons of candy and rainbows glittering at me from across the store. As Garth in Wayne's World would say, I was pulled in by their tractor beam. They had huge plastic cherries on the toe! I couldn't stand it. I touched, I pulled back, I picked up, I put down, I picked up again. And I grinned. And was that something yummy I smelled? Why yes, the cheerful sales gal said - all the Melissa's are scented like bubblegum. Well, now isn't that just taking me right back to the hopscotch line?! Instead of being turned off by the blatant girliness, I was pulled even further in, and after an encouraging nod from my shopping partner Angela, (thank you Ange for not saying they were hideous, or things might have gone differently) I asked to try them on.
It was jel at first sight.
They had me at jello.

So, my silly new shoes came home with me from Vegas and might have started an obsession.

An obsession which my internet browser is not helping by grabbing my cookies and having banner ads pop up with coupons to Zappos, showing pics of the other Melissa styles. Damn you Firefox! Stop stalking me! Oooo - are those burgundy ones?

Note: The shoebox said this style was named 'Lady Drag' and when Angela I saw that we had to laugh. Great, I thought, they are associating these shoes with drag queens. But later when I searched the plethora of Melissa shoes online I saw that the name had been cut off and they are called Lady Dragon. ;)