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We're preoccupied with PRO-Keds at the moment. The Royal in particular is a personal favourite, and PRO-Keds have kindly given us an appropriately royal trio of white, red and blue colourways to give away to one lucky person purchasing a pair of PRO-Keds from the store between now and Sunday July 25th. Naturally we'll make sure they're your size too. One of the original sought-after shoes, and in many ways, the forefather of the sneaker "culture" we currently bask in, this was an NYC classic that was part of the footwear ladder, as youngsters aspired to wear these rather than the dreaded skippy on their feet.

It even pre-dates late '60s and early '70s street level aspirations, starting life in terms of design cues as a 1926 Keds shoe called the Royal Tread. PRO-Keds launched in 1949 as a performance spinoff of sorts. Losing the Tread but staying Royal, this model was endorsed by George Mikan aka. "Mr Basketball" — a bookish but brilliant player from a time when shorts were short and sneakers were canvas. He played for the Lakers back when the franchise was based in Minneapolis, whose "Land of 10,000 Lakes" nickname gave them the Lakers name. Importantly, this shoe still looks good, and the extra width and forefoot detailing makes them more than just a piece of sports footwear nostalgia. They're a design classic.

Enough of the history lesson. All PRO-Keds purchases are instantly entered. One lucky buyer gets the set and the competition rules are here. Given the model's years in the game, it's unlikely to date any time soon, so keeping some back up pairs is a shrewd move.

See all the PRO-Keds shoes in the Crooked Tongues store