Maybe you are thinking, “that guy has a lot of shoes”. And you would be right. I have a lot of shoes. Many shoes. And I wear them. Everyday. Shoes everyday. That said, I don’t have as many shoes as Kobe.
I would have gifted Kobe a complete set of NOS Florsheim Imperial shoes. Why not? The set would have included a pair in Golden Harvest (model 93631), like the ones photographed here.
I believe Florsheim produced this model during the 1960s and 1970s but the color is very 1970s. They are sort of a mustard yellow. You can imagine Dave Winfield wearing a pair. The color can vary for this model. I have seen a few pairs that are a yellowish white in color. The lighter pair in this post is from 1970s. The darker pair, is from the 1960s.
This is an uncommon model but not rare. There are usually a few pairs for sale on eBay at any given time but it will take some patience to find a pair in your size. Expect to pay around $65 to $150 for a pair (plus shipping). Want a new pair (NOS)? I have only seen one on eBay in the past year so don’t hold your breath for a new pair.
Compared to a brown or black Florsheim Imperial, you will get noticed in a pair of these shoes. Yes, people notice mustard wingtips.
Cool shoes. Great post.
Size 10 d . I want to buy them from you ? How much
Hi. I have Golden Harvest in pristine condition ad well as 3 black, 2 cordovans, 2 walnuts. All of them are polished to a mirror finish. Proud to own all of these classics. Glad to see your comments and photos.
Hi, I have recently been lucky to be able to purchase a pair of 93630 NOS perfect v cleats, LWT, Florisheim shoes with the code FF 498965.
I need to warn all reader of this super blog that due to th age of these fantastic vintage American shoes you need to treat the leather ASAP. As the leather drys out over time even thou these shoe had been stored with cedar shoe trees. I did not do this simple treatment process and have paid the price as the leather cracked at the crease areas within hours of wearing. Subsequently I have trie to treat the leather but unreversable damage has been caused. Any ideas?
That’s an awful story. But I am glad you shared the advice. I haven’t had any luck repairing cracked leather. A good source of advice is posting some pictures on the Styleforum shoe care thread. There are some very knowledgable shoe care experts watching that thread.
David, I was just fortunate to have recently found a pair of these in my size. That color/brand polish do you use on these? Mine seem to be more on the pale yellow/tan end of the spectrum.
Thoughts?
I have used Meltonian Camel
https://amzn.to/2jPRXpI
Thank you for the information! I have these shoes but they have a different style bottom. Instead of the VCleat there is a larger half moon metal piece on the outside heel corner. Do you have anymore information on that? Thanks for the help!
Probably re-heeled at some point. The leather and vcleat is very slippery on wet concrete and tile floors!!
I can’t imagine finding an affordable (for me) pair of Florsheim Imperial Golden Harvest’s so I’m wondering if anyone knows if Sears (or similar company) made a less expensive similarly colored shoe?
I haven’t seen a Sears version but I believe Hanover made a similar color at one point. Sometimes the Florsheim version in good shape sells for $60 to $80 but they are rare.
I have the Tan Hanover. Discovered after several years wearing as a medium brown. Stripped old polish with Acetone and beautiful gold tan shoe appeared!
I have seen a few pairs. They are rare.
What size you looking for?
Golden Harvests are always a OMG moment for me. They’re beautiful, and I’d love a pair, but I have never seen one in my size. Shame, as I would totally rock them.
Yeah, sadly they are tough to find now. Not as tough as the green pairs though
I just lucked into a gorgeous, seemingly unworn pair of these shoes @ my local Goodwill. I am a 10.5 D and these are 11.5 C, so close enough for dancing. I can’t place the exact year using yourc calculator, but I know they are as old as I am, or so (53). Anyway, suede lined tongue and deep, deep soles. I expect to wear these beauties w. my navy suits until they bury me in them. I, too, have quite a collection of Imperials. My granddad wore them selling insurance in the 50’s – 80’s. His style became my style. Hate to say it, but they don’t make ’em like this anymore. Great site and thank you for providing the information as well as keeping the love and respect alive. Oh, and to those posting above, Sno-Seal, good polish and care/respect for something of an era you won’t soon see again are all these need. Cheers!
i need quotation
Size 8 C
ramiro@icloud.com
Found a pair in excellent shape on ebay last year, wore them occasionally and finally sent them off to McFarlands Shoe Repair (thru Kirby Allison) for a recraft using their Imperial Resoling and Restoration. They use JR soles, heel blocks and re-creat the heel nail pattern and the classic 5 nail pattern at the mid-sole.
I’ll be posting my reviews on Styleforum
Excellent
Any updates on the shoes
David,
Thank you for providing such a wealth of information and lore. My vintage shoes have a special place in my heart as well as my collection. I have four pair now and am looking to add at least a few more. My latest edition is ap air of Golden Harvests that I was fortunate enough to find in decent to good condition without damage and in my size on eBay. I have a good conditioning regimen and look to bring them into better shape and then sending them to Jim McFarland for a full restore. I think if you are going to keep and wear them, they at least deserve a good restoration. I am angry that I didn’t acquire the green Florsheims I passed on while being so preoccupied with the GH’s. That’s life. Part of the fun in collecting is often the wait for the shoe one really likes. Thanks again for being such a repository of knowledge and expertise.
Thanks Mark! I am still looking for a pair of forest green Florsheim in my size too.
David, that’s interesting! I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Forest Green wingtips!
I sold Florsheims in college, and the Golden Harvest color was a special order. The normal tan color was much darker. We had a customer who ordered two pairs of the Golden Harvest (or Harvest Gold, I can’t remember exactly) every year. The color was sort of a milky yellow.
They were expensive, over $100 back then when normal Florsheims were $60-80. Loved selling them, but I never thought they were very comfortable.
I use ebay a lot and do the saved seaches, particularly for Florsheim Wingtips in Harvest Gold. Compared to other colors, especially regular brown and black, I have noticed that they are quite a bit more expensive. Somehow I suspect part of the reason is that there weren’t as many made. I will check on Classic Shoes Website. Their shoes are prohibitively expensive!
Well, I finally scored a pair at a local St. Vincent de Paul thrift store two days ago. They are almost my size. The lettering in the shoe was very faded so I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking at first. First, I identified the very faded Florsheim logo on the heel pad. Then I could read the last three numbers _ _ 631. Could they be Golden Harvests? Yes! The shoes were marked as 11s but they are actually size 11.5 A. I wear a 11.5 D. So they are tight. (I’ll try wearing very thin socks.)
The color was so far off I almost missed them. Someone had put some sort of dark polish on them but it appears to be only on the surface. I expect to be able to clean them up quite well. The soles are original with lot of life still in them. The heel has been replaced or at least covered over, but I think these are March 1968 shoes. When these are resoled in future I’ll find out for certain. The outsides are pretty good, dirty, but pretty free of nicks and gouges. They are long, long overdue for a conditioning. I want to document them in bright sunlight before I start the refurbishment process. I’ll use all of your techniques. Wish me luck!
Good luck. Hopefully you can stretch them but going from an A to a D is a lot.
Yeah, it didn’t work.
Luckily for me, last week I finally purchased another pair of Golden Harvest project shoes in my size, 11.5 D. I’m more than half way through the process. I’ve stripped the dark polish off, I not happy with the result. I’ll probably do it again.
Just got my 1st pair. Date codes (DF) tracks to 1965/75/85. Color is a lighter shade of mustard. I am thinking these may be 1970’s. Any ideas how to preprly date them? They include a “651661 19” following the 93631. Insole has the branded “florsheim shoe/Imperial quality” gold script with crown and cloud like curves around Imperial quality. 5 nails on the waist, but the heel was replaced, alas…
The yellow is that milky yellow mustard, FYI.
Florsheim made the model from the mid-1960s to 1979. So it is probably a 1975 version.
I found a pair of GH, in good condition, but they just don’t look as good as yours, partly I think, because the thread they used is quite a bit darker, and it seems as though the GH color just doesn’t stick to the leather? I’m not sure, but maybe I should have dyed them yellow and then a little patina? I’ve dyed them to a Ruby Red Grapefruit color. Yours look great!
Hi David, I would love to own a pair of golden harvest shoes that fit me. I been looking for a 10eee for years with no luck. I was wondering if there was any way one could possibly turn a pair of 93602 into a “golden harvest looking” pair of shoes by means of changing the color somehow. I imagine it would be a time consuming process, if it were even possible?? I have a few donor pairs I could gamble with, I just love the GH color and I really want a pair somehow. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.