• Fashion Competitions

Win A Year’s Worth Of Shoes With @RiverIslandMan

Fancy a new pair of trainers? Some slick brogues? Or maybe you’re finally looking to kick those square toes to the curb? (In which case what the hell took you so long?) Good news, then, because River Island is giving you the chance to raise your footwear game with not one, but 12(!) pairs of brand spanking new shoes. To celebrate the launch of its menswear-dedicated Instagram channel @RiverIslandMan, the British high street favourite is calling on gents nationwide to ‘gram a shot of their favourite shoes to be in with a chance to win a year’s worth of its footwear.

How To Enter

1. Take a picture showing your best shoe game.
2. Upload the picture to Instagram using the hashtag #YouGotSole.
3. Tag both @RiverIslandMan and a mate to nominate them to ‘gram their shoes.

It all kicks off on Monday, May 16. Each day, the River Island team will choose their favourite #YouGotSole shot before picking an overall winner on May 23. Whoever’s then crowned footwear don will receive a new pair of shoes of their choice every month for a year. Win.

Top Tips

Interested? Of course you are. So before you get snapping, here are our top tips for getting one step ahead of the competition:

• Be as creative as possible. Sure, shoes look good on feet, but you can also set them up against an interesting backdrop or shoot them somewhere unexpected like a rooftop, skate park or – if you’ve got that thing with floors – on a tiled floor that’s double-tap-worthy.
• Choose your filter wisely. Ideally you’ll have enough natural light to slap a big, fat self-congratulatory #nofilter on your shoe ‘gram. But if not, let a smart choice of filter work its magic. But never Amaro. No one uses Amaro.
• Get your pet involved. Proud father to a cat or dog? Now’s their time to shine. Why? Because ‘grams of shoes are great, but ‘grams of shoes and animal companions are infinitely better.

Feeling uninspired? Then pull up @RiverIslandMan to get your creative juices flowing. Chock full of finger-tap fodder, the channel brings together first-in-class red-carpet style, news on exclusive collaborations like the upcoming River Island x YMC collection, just-dropped products and the odd #foodporn post that – warning – might have you salivating on your screen. Still not sure where to start? Check out some of the best shots from the River Island team:

For full terms and conditions, see riverisland.com/competitions.

Luke Todd

As FashionBeans deputy editor, Luke Todd is tasked with filtering through the latest from the worlds of fashion, grooming, fitness, technology and lifestyle to deliver an indispensable edit of the most stylish stuff. Along with working on the site since 2009, he has written for leading titles such as ShortList, Drapers and GQ Style Germany and has consulted for brands including Bulldog Skincare and James Harknett.