In case you missed it, jelly is back! In March 2026, French luxury fashion house Chloé took the internet by storm when it launched its brand-new shoe for summer: a $670 jelly shoe complete with an open toe and kitten heel in shades of blush pink, mint, amber brown, and ash grey. As reported hustleAfter their debut, Google searches for both “jelly ballet shoes” and “jelly mules” exploded.
However, two months after the new shoe arrived on the scene, an X user issued a warning regarding the shoes. “When I was a kid in the late 20th century (1983), please listen when I tell you that these shoes will ruin your feet.” to caution. They added: “They will tear it into unrecognizable, smelly shreds, and they will cut your skin like razor blades. You will think you are the exception. You are not. I hope my side will never cooperate again if I lie.”
But don’t just take the Twitterverse’s word for it. There’s plenty of supporting evidence that your feet are waving major red flags at the return of the infamous jelly shoes.
Most jelly shoes are made of PVC plastic, which is a painful material at best
Unfortunately, not all jelly is made the same way. While Chloé’s high-end pair are constructed from clear TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane), a material that tends to be more flexible and breathable, most of the more affordable versions of the jelly are made up of PVC (polyvinyl chloride), the same terrible material from the ’80s that had everyone’s dogs barking by lunchtime.
As the old saying goes, ignorance is bliss. In the 1980s, fashionistas and shoe enthusiasts had no way of knowing how terrible those cute little clear jelly shoes, in various shades of shiny PVC plastic, were for their feet. Unfortunately, all that shiny jelly isn’t gold. Often, after just a few hours in the summer heat, their sweet tooth was screaming in pain, their ankles and heels were developing blisters the size of Texas, and, beneath the surface, bad feet and/or Nail fungus It was almost certainly brewed by moisture trapped inside the gummy plastic boots, much like What happens when you stop wearing socks with shoes?. “Sometimes, these gel shoes get too hot, so they can get chafing and blisters, and the plastic environment of the gel shoe can lead to foot fungus,” explained Dr. Leslie Robinson, interim associate dean for academic affairs at Temple University School of Podiatry in Philadelphia. HuffPost In July 2025.
So, uh, yeah, go ahead and add PVC shoes to the ever-growing list Shoes that can cause serious damage to your feet. Your feet will thank you.
