PUMA Gold Fit

• MODEL: PUMA GOLD FIT

Comparing this pair to the Italian and West German-made Gold Fits brings up some differences that may not be visible to an impatient audience.

To the trained eye, they look a lot like a pair of battered Yugoslavian-made Gold Fits from our archives but the version pictured here also appears in a 1977 German catalogue. As there is no textual evidence on the shoe itself it’s simply impossible to tell for sure that this (Yugoslavia) is where they were made. And while it’s unfortunate that we can’t claim to know the original place of production for this pair (nor rule out the fact that it might also be made in Italy or West Germany for all we know), we’re eager to announce that there are a variety of visible changes in their construction worth mentioning.

First, the sole unit is completely different than both the West German and Italian pairs, even more basic and block-like here, and while we don’t know exact production dates on any of the three pairs, we wouldn’t be surprised if these more ‘basic’ soles were signs of an older design.

Second, the overall shape of these Gold Fits is much more similar to the Italian-made Gold Fit (than it is to the West German version): lower-cut ankle collar, side stitching that reaches slightly farther back along the side wall, and black threads used for the Formstripe to help blend it in better.

Third, the toe box layer is the thinnest of all pairs on these, but this is mostly due to the completely different sole unit which rides up the toe nearly covering the whole suede patch.

And finally, the tongue itself is the shortest on these, even more trimmed down than that of the Italy pair.

PUMA purists out there will probably point out the most prominent fact of all; the model. These are PUMA Gold Fits, after all, and not Gold Fit 80s, like the siblings we’ve referenced above.

written by Dylan Cromwell

photography by errol