For Red Clay Soul, thinking about Duck Head is essentially thinking about a founding tenant of the blog. The old-school inspiration of that big yellow tag we all remember is more than just a piece of clothing, it’s the evolution of our youth. Each year, Mom would get a couple of pairs of pants from Uptons. She’d do her best to keep them clean so we could wear them to church. Eventually, they’d become ‘school pants’, and as soon as the knees blew out they’d become cut-off shorts for the summer. This continued into college for many of us.
Then Duck Head disappeared. They tried to come back in the 2010s but were magnificently unsuccessful. Then, they found the right owner and have been thriving since. Duck Head has evolved into a mainstay of classic menswear, staking a claim on shelves and closets for guys across the style spectrum.
This year marks Duck Head’s 160th year in business. It’s crazy, but looking at their history, it makes sense. To celebrate, they’ve released a small capsule collection that is fun and functional. The highlights are the patchwork Madras pants and shorts, the pique cotton polos, the cotton sweatshirt, and the color-block oxfords. They also offer specially tagged chinos with pleats! Talk about old school.
See the whole collection here. And here are some highlights for your eyes:
For Southern boys in the 80s/90s, Duck Head was de rigueur. I used to buy mine at Belk and Hechts, and as RCS mentioned, they batted the cycle from “nice” pants, to school pants, to cut-off shorts. My last pair of DHs gave up the ghost around 1999. Fantastic advertising back in the day, too. Unfortunately, the rise on the new DH is a little too short for me, and I’ve moved on to another brand, but glad to see DH embracing their roots.
DH- add 3/4- 1″ to the rise and I’d only buy DH!
I’m not as offended by pleats as I used to be, especially with a single pleat like this. However, I feel like they only really look good if you’re wearing them closer to your natural waist rather than at the hips like in these pictures. I feel like it kind of defeats the purpose of pleats.