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Carolyn J. Braden • 3 Minute Read
It all started when I was a little girl in the 1980’s. My very first pair of jelly shoes were purple wedges that attached around my ankle and I thought they were the most beautiful shoes I ever saw. As I recently looked through photographs of myself wearing them, I realized I really loved fashion and shoes even as a kid. I was always posing, finding the camera and smiling. I was such a confident little girl and I knew what I liked from a very young age.
My love of jelly shoes continued on. I have had numerous pairs over the years. I came across the Melissa brand of jellies in high school. They were platform “fisherman” sandals and I loved them. Being only 5-foot 1 inch in height, even in high school, they gave me a little lift while being stylish.
Did you know that Jelly shoes started by a French company called “Jelly Shoes” by Tony Alano and Nicolas Guillon in Paris, 1980. Read more about the history of Jelly shoes on Wikipedia here.
Get 20% off any Melissa shoe style (even the sale price) using my code CBCDISCOUNT or by using my link….click here!
Mini Melissa For Babies and Kids
If I had a kid, I’d have them wearing Mini Melissa shoes (their kid-sized line of shoes) for sure, as even kids need comfy shoes! I can’t imagine walking through a theme park or the zoo with a child whose feet are being rubbed by a pair of shoes.
Check out my cute Taylor Swift inspired clear visor tutorial that would match many Melissa styles in the 1-minute video above or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden.
As a former teacher, nanny and babysitter, I know that they’d cry and desire to be carried, which doesn’t make for a fun day. Many of their styles match the adult Melissa shoes, so matching with your “mini me” is possible and oh, so cute! If I had a friend that traveled a lot with a kiddo, I’d gift them with a clear matching pair for sure as they’d go with every outfit in their suitcase!
What Makes Melissa Different: They Are Stylish and Comfy!
The fisherman style I owned in high school lives on as the “Possession” in the Melissa shoe brand and it still is simply fab. I love the clear ones because they match everything. You can dress them up or down too. While I’ve owned many pairs of jelly shoes, I can honestly say the Melissa brand is THE MOST comfortable brand of jelly shoes ever.
Get my one minute review + two styling ideas in my video below or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
I can wear each pair right out of the box, as they all have soft footbeds that sort of mold to my feet. I own the Rainbow Beach slides and the Papete Platform and all are cute and comfy. I wear them with many things, as the rainbow colors match so much! I love the soft, pliable plastic of each with a soft, cushioned footbed. They are truly my summertime “rain boots” as they are each waterproof too.
If my jellies could talk, they’d say this: hear and see it in my 15 second video below or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
If you’ve ever worn a pair of shoes that rubbed on your feet or hurt them after wearing them for a few hours, you know how it can just about ruin your day. Improper foot wear often is the cause of foot pain and you can read more about it here on the Hopkins Medicine website. While I love many shoes and their beauty, if it’s not comfortable, it won’t get much use in my life. I do not want severe foot problems later in life.
The Melissa brand has never hurt my feet. I can wear them all day with zero-foot pain. After being an art teacher for 10 years, I learned what foot pain was very quickly (you never sit down as an art teacher) and turned to Melissa, Crocs, TOMS and Ugg shoe brands time and time again as each never hurt my feet.
Some comfy shoe styles and brands I love with links to each (and each brand has kid-sized versions too!):
Melissa (I LOVE the Possession in glitter colors or clear, heeled or not, and all their designer lines are so beautiful, especially their recent collab with Marc Jacobs, here’s their list of sustainability efforts)
TOMS (Any of the Alpargata styles are washable and comfy, they have worked on sustainability since day one)
Crocs (Mostly the Classic Crocs are the most lightweight and comfy to me…the platforms were a bit too heavy, and they are working on their sustainability, they are also part of the HEYDUDE brand)
UGG (We love their Classic boots, slippers and my father in law has requested the slippers from us twice now…when his first pair wore out after years, he asked us to get him more as they are really comfy, and the brand is working on their sustainability)
Melissa Makes More Than Jellies
I worked in the corporate world and thought I had to give up all my flat shoe styles, so I turned to heels when I wanted to add height to myself in all the dresses and pant suits I wore. I had numerous heels that were comfy, but nothing quite like the brands I wore as a teacher. I am now happy to see Melissa shoes branching out to incorporate more styles that I could wear in an office environment. They aren’t just selling summer jellies anymore!
Smell and Sustainability
The Melissa shoe brand has a cute scent on each pair of their shoes that make my closet smell yummy. They are also vegan, cruelty free, and sustainably made, meaning they pay attention to their product waste and manufacturing and they are made with 30% recycled factory waste.
This is important because most jellies have been made from PVC, which is a plastic material so bad that even Coca-Cola Company has called it “problematic and unnecessary” (article link from Vogue Business). When brands like Melissa try to recreate the jelly the right way, or create them sustainably, it matters. Plastic may not be our future, but if you redesign the footwear like Grendene (the owner of Melissa) did to use renewable materials, you see fashion moving on the right track, like when wearing real fur started it’s decline in the fashion world in the early 2000’s, thankfully.
Ambassador
If you are wanting a very comfy shoe, check out the Melissa brand. I do think they are among some of the best shoe brands that are great for all ages. I look forward to more years of wearing jellies and so much more from Melissa! I became an ambassador for the brand in 2024 due to my sheer love of the brand and wanted to share my love with others. You will not see me promote a brand that I do not believe in, and I fully believe in Melissa.
Get 20% off any Melissa shoe style (even the sale price) using my code CBCDISCOUNT or by using my link….click here!
If you loved this article, we know you’ll love this one too: What I Think of My Beachwaver Multi Barrel Curling Iron
Carolyn J. (C.J.) Braden is the owner of Carolyn’s Blooming Creations is a regular contributor and editor for CBC. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.
