Fashion
The ugly-chic shoe lives on.
In the current era of celebrity style, it’s rare to see a styling choice of questionable taste. Before everyone got styled to walk from their hotel entrance to their black car, they went out in what felt comfortable, not what was fashionable. Sometimes that included the questionably ugly-chic jelly shoe, which is making waves again thanks to The Row’s runway version. Some of our fave celebs haven’t let the jelly shoe fade into complete obscurity, like a baby Kirsten Dunst in the ‘90s and even Kylie Jenner with her Tumblr-era style in the 2010s. Scroll through to see how celebs have embraced jellies over the years, whether on the runway or walking through sweaty New York streets.
Kirsten Dunst, 1995
A Nylon It Girl through and through, baby Kirsten attended the MTV Movie Awards in 1995 in a clear pair of jellies.
Sarah Silverman, 2003
Sarah Silverman walked the red carpet at the School of Rock premiere in a sensible kitten heel jelly shoe and very Y2K top and skirt.
Azealia Banks, 2012
Queen of controversial takes and even more controversial fashion choices Azealia Banks chose some hot pink jellies for a garden party in London. Dare we say, they actually kinda work?
Kylie Jenner, 2013
Before she was a billionaire and CEO of Kylie Cosmetics, she was just King Kylie, traipsing around Calabasas in her American Apparel jelly shoes and space buns.
Lana Del Rey, 2014
Lana was spotted in New York in American Apparel caged jelly flats, and also proved that low-rise jeans never went out of style.
Lauren Jauregui, 2015
The Fifth Harmony songstress was seen in London wearing sparkly jelly shoes paired with a leopard coat. This all checks out, considering 2015 was peak Topshop-era fashion.
Jeff Bridges, 2017
The unexpected hero of jelly shoes, Jeff Bridges, paid homage to ‘The Dude,’ his seminal character in The Big Lebowski, who wore jellies in the film. To wear them on Hollywood Boulevard in broad daylight with a blue suit is a bold statement, to say the least.
Gigi Hadid, 2017
The Hadid sister wore jellies when she walked the Alberta Ferretti Spring/Summer 2018 show, so technically she didn’t choose these shoes... but maybe they chose her?
Jennifer Lawrence, 2021
Jennifer Lawrence’s maternity style was very relaxed and city-friendly, evidenced by these white overalls and peachy jelly sandals for stomping around Tribeca.
Lisa, 2023
The Blackpink superstar took to the streets of Paris in a quirky dyed midi skirt and clear jellies, mixing and matching vintage styles for a totally new look.
Rumer Willis, 2024
The singer and actress stepped out in New York, where she was posted up at The Carlyle for her Café Carlyle residency, wearing the oh-so classic Melissa Possession fisherman-style jellies.
