If you haven’t already, this is your last chance to enter and win these London Underground Bread N’ Honey shoes. The contest ends tonight (it was extended by a day since we have clarification that the contest is open to international readers and all shoe lovers should have a chance to win) so go, go, go!!!

When last we spoke about London Underground, we went over some of the careful thought put behind the shoes. You already know about the raven that protect the crown jewels, but now we have detailed snaps to show you. These photos were taken from the inner lining of London Underground boots called Hit and Miss. Here’s the raven that circles overhead to protect the jewels and the boots. Sadly, as reader graymnnce has pointed out, you won’t see ravens flying at the Tower of London because the wings are clipped to prevent the ravens from floating away.

It’s a little less apparent, but the brass hardware is actually an imprint of a diamond.

Our guest shoe blogger, CH, had an opportunity to try out these Hit and Miss boots and here’s her review:

The London Underground Hit & Miss boots are at once sturdy and comfortable to wear. On day one, I was able to walk a couple hours in them without tiring. The style is quite straightforward, and the designs on the sides of the boots give them a unique quality. Note the velcro strap on the boot. It’s different yet functional because it gives my feet a more snug fit.

I’ve been pairing them mostly with jeans. I am eager to see the Bread N’ Honey shoes worn on the contest winner though. While the Hit & Miss boots are comfortable enough for everday wear, the Bread N’ Honey shoes look like they will be somewhat more trendy and dressy. There are also quite a number of appealing upcoming London Underground shoe styles that are less rocker band and have more feminine appeal.

And finally, here’s another fun tidbit about London Underground shoes. If you’ve ever wondered how designers name their shoes, for London Underground the answer is as interesting as the raven story. The styles in the collection have a secret meaning which is revealed through rhyming slang. According to the CockneyRhymingSlang website, rhyming slang are phrases “derived from taking an expression which rhymes with a word and then using that expression instead of the word. For example the word look rhymes with butcher’s hook“.

Okay intelligent and creative ShoeBloggers, can we guess what these London Underground shoes rhyme with?

The Hit & Miss boots are named because you might want to kiss them.

For our contest giveaway shoe, the Bread N’ Honey, those shoes were named because they are money and the color looks like it too.

These Double Dutch flip-flops, might they remind you of the word crutch?

There are also shoes which we can’t post images of yet because they are from upcoming collections, but if you see them remember that Read by Lips is named because it has double zips and a Bit of Romance (my favorite from the entire shoe line) are named because they have a legwarmer shaft like the Flashdance movies.

I’m sure this is enough shoe trivia for you to absorb so bright and early Monday morning so I will simply remind you one final time to enter the London Underground shoes contest to win a pair of Bread N’ Honey shoes from this most interesting and fact-filled shoe brand.

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Got the Monday morning blues? Well, ShoeBlog has just the thing to cheer you up. We’re excited because we have two back-to-back contests for you this month.

Our first giveaway is the Bread N’ Honey shoe by a new brand called London Underground, which launch in Fall 2007. These triple buckle mary-jane shoes are a neutral putty color that pairs well with jeans. Can’t you imagine going to a rock concert in these? The decorated, printed stacked heel is also spot on with this season’s trend of decorated heels except they aren’t razor sharp stilletos that will give you intense pain at the end of the day. The winner of our latest giveaway will receive the Bread N’ Honey, which retails for $100, in their size.

Before I go into contest entry details, I thought it would be fun to mention some of the subtle originals of the shoe, which is by designer Paul Kaufman. During a meetup with Paul and the London Underground team (Hi Tamara!) at WSA I discovered the brand was named after the London underground transportation system. What’s even more interesting is the purpose of the raven and brass hardware resembling diamonds or jewels on all the shoes. In London, ravens protect the Tower of London and the crown jewels. According to legend, if the ravens ever left, Britain and the monarchy would fall. Similiarly, the raven logo on London Underground is meant to protect the shoes and the jeweled hardware. Didn’t think you would get a history lesson with this post, did ya?

Okay, by now you’re itching to enter this contest. It’s pretty simple, actually. Just submit a comment to this blog post by midnight PST on Sunday April 27 Monday April 28th (due to clarification on international entries). Good luck!

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Congratulations to Arlene for winning the ShoeBlog Spring Cleaning contest. For having entry/post #5, she is the lucky contest winner and her pink Converses can finally be retired to greener pastures. We hope she’ll pick something special to add to her shoe wardrobe.

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Here at ShoeBlog, we wanted to herald the start of spring (I’m especially looking forward to the warmer climate that usually comes with the new season). A new, more spring-themed layout has been released and hopefully you’ve enjoyed our updated header with a lovely lady selecting her shoes. We also wanted to show our appreciation for you, our beautiful readers, by giving away a pair of Pierre Hardy for Gap shoes (or $100 gift certificate). That contest ends in less than 12 hours so I highly encourage you to enter as soon as you can. Right now, you’ve got some great odds in your favor to win the contest.

And if you have the stomach for it, you might also want to see what shoes readers are considering getting rid of if they win this contest. We’ll be selecting a winner randomly from all the valid entries but two of my favorite entries so far are:

Galligator’s flower shoes. One the surface, they look quite lovely, especially next to her matching handbag. Unfortunately, they are actually terribly painful to wear. Sigh. It’s a pity because these shoes would be have so nice for spring and they appear brand new!

Not quite so new are Arlene’s fun, pink Converses. The kicks appear to have been well travelled and loved but perhaps they need to be retired soon?

Note: If you have difficulties creating a login or posting your entry, please email us at admin@shoeblog dot com. We’ll make sure your entry is registered and help you through the login process.

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In a few days, it will officially be the beginning of spring. To celebrate, we are giving one lucky ShoeBlog reader a chance to do a little spring cleaning shoe-wise.

Here’s how the contest works. Normally, on our sister site, shoeforums.com, we post shoes that we lust for or we display proud new additions to our shoe family. To incentivize our readers to start spring cleaning, enter our spring shoe giveaway by posting a picture of  an old pair of shoes that you haven’t thrown away yet but probably should.

One winner will be randomly selected from the set of smelly, old shoes that are posted. To make it easier to part with the old shoes, the winner gets to pick a pair of new Pierre Hardy for Gap shoes (any style be it the nude flat, the Chloe-like platforms, etc) from the online Gap store. It’s almost spring so, as the saying goes, “Out with the old, in with the new”…new shoe that is! If the winner’s preferred style,size isn’t available at the end of the contest, a $100 gift certificate to Endless.com will be gifted to the winner instead.

Deadline to post your old shoe entry: Midnight PST, March 31st, 2008.

So what are you waiting for? Enter the Shoeblog Spring Shoe Contest by posting your old shoes here.

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