Must Be Jelly...

Way back when my *sister and I both wore jelly sandals, a PVC plastic version of the classic fisherman's sandal originally produced after WWII in response to a leather shortage. No, I was not a child in the 40s but I suspect after decades of being warehoused somewhere in France all the left over shoes found their way to the area in Brooklyn we lived in. My mother, always on a budget, bought them for us at a store called John's Bargain Center, the predecessor to the 99Cents Stores.

Despite their pretty transparent colors and water friendly wear we both hated them and to this day, the occasional Old Navy Flip Flop aside, neither of us will entertain the idea of wearing any shoes made of rubbery plastic. I can't help but wonder if the designers of crocs or those at YSL and Chloe, who are making and selling shoes for way more than any plastic shoe should be sold for, ever had to listen to the taunts of their childhood peers while wearing shoes that were once reminders of financial struggle -

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/08/17/style/global/20090817-iht-shoes-slideshow_index.html

*My sister just reminded me that she was further tormented because she had the added pleasure of wearing the matching hooded jelly jacket.