Recently, my friend Zoe wore these shoes from Margaret Howell and Juju Footwear's collaboration.
I fell in love. Madly and deeply in love. It was the first time a shoe has made me feel like that since discovered my mum's shoe cupboard and found a pair of black velvet Mary Janes. Sadly for me, my feet continued to grow way past a dainty size 5 so I was never able to take any of my mum's footwear out on the town, but until I was 11 I had a lot of fun stomping around the house in them.
Zoe's shoes brought back all of the black velvet Mary Jane feelings that I had suppressed for a long time. I did what I have never done before, and shamelessly stole Zoe's shoe choice. I went out and bought my own pair.
I thought I'd be daunted by their size and weight; they certainly don't appear delicate, which is a particular concern of mine because of my size 8 feet. I generally try to avoid anything that would make my feet look bigger than they actually are, which is quite big in the first place. I needn't have worried. I found them light, secure, and ridiculously comfortable. I've worn them with everything. Last week, I paired them with a gold sequin pencil skirt and a man's white shirt from Cos. I've matched them up with summer dresses from ASOS and high waisted 80s jeans from Beyond Retro. I haven't found an outfit that I wouldn't want to couple them with.
One of the reasons why I'm so in love with these shoes is that they remind me of my childhood. My brother and I lived in jelly shoes, and I remember my dad having a pair that he wore all the time, much to our embarrassment. (Now I can't see what was so embarrassing about it; clearly, my dad was fashion forward.) The most frequent comment I've had from people who have seen me wearing the shoes is 'oh, I used to have a pair just like that when I was a kid!' That's what I'm finding most enjoyable about these shoes - they are hugely representative of people's childhoods.
This is my brother wearing yellow jellies in '94 or '95. He will be delighted that I've chosen to share this picture.
And this is me, around a similar time, also wearing yellow jellies. And yes, that is a playsuit with a hood that I'm wearing, thank you very much for asking.
So I'll keep wearing my jelly shoes, even if they fall out of fashion again. It's a nice way to not feel too grown up, especially when I'm wearing them to meetings or other such events. Which I can do, because they go with everything. Seriously.