‘I can feel the blisters’ shoppers cry as River Island is latest high street store to jump on ‘painful’ 90s shoe trend
HIGH street favourite River Island has become the latest shop to jump on a “painful” Nineties shoe trend.
Clips from inside one of the London-based retailer’s stores show that it now has a full range of jelly shoes – including flip flops, sandals and ballet flats.
Flip Flop Jelly Sandals, £18
Bosses at the fashion giant dubbed the range “ideal for sun, sea and sand” in an Instagram post.
However, not everyone shared the sentiment, with some fashion critics saying they “can feel the blisters through the screen”.
“They cut our feet to bits in the Eighties,” one shopper commented. “I won’t be making the same mistake 40 years later.”
Another joked: “My heels developed blisters just looking at this post.”
A third said “the foot rub is real” when it comes to wearing jelly shoes, while a fourth sarcastically remarked that they would be in “blister heaven”.
Among River Island’s offerings is Mary Jane-style jelly shoes for £25, jelly flip flops for £18 and jelly ballet pumps for £25.
There’s also the iconic caged jelly design up for grabs in translucent brown or pink for £25.
Jelly shoes truly made their mark in the Eighties thanks to a brand called Jelly Shoe, which later rebranded to Melissa Shoes.
The brand mass-produced the now-famous kicks made from soft, flexible PVC plastic in bright colours.
Such sandals were marketed as a fun and carefree footwear option which were easy to wear and clean, and a cheaper alternative to leather sandals.
The trend faded out of favour in the late Nineties as fashion tastes changed, and the shoes started being regarded as childlike and outdated.
Jelly shoes had a small comeback in the 2010s thanks to Gen Z’s growing interest in Nineties and early Noughties fashion.
And now, fast forward to 2025, they’re back with a vengeance.
Everywhere from Primark and River Island to Kim Kardashian’s apparel brand SKIMS are flogging them.
Fashion critics had the same fear of blisters when they saw clear glitter caged jelly sandals being sold in Primark.
Flip Flop Jelly Sandals, £18