by Matthew Longcore
Duck Head is launching an Ivy inspired fall collection that its true to the roots of this heritage brand. Here is a bit of history and a preview of the collection.
Let’s begin by going back to 1980, the year in which The Official Preppy Handbook was published. The handbook has a section titled THE DUCK MOTIF which states:
“The duck is the most beloved of all totems. The duck suggests hunting, water, Maine – all the things worth thinking about. The basic duck is the mallard. The most common view of the duck is the silhouette, although the duck in flight runs a close second.” (Birnbach 1980, 23)
The handbook continues with LEADING SUPPLIERS OF THE MOFIF including Gokeys of St. Paul, Minnesota; Orvis of Manchester, Vermont; The Sporting Life of Alexandria, Virginia; and the Audubon Society. Other outdoorsy brands which specialized in the Duck Motif are featured in the WHERE TO SHOP section of the handbook: L.L. Bean of Freeport, Maine; Land’s End of Chicago, Illinois; and Eddie Bauer of Seattle, Washington.
This is certainly an esteemed list of heritage brand clothiers. However, when it comes to “The Duck Motif” the most iconic preppy heritage brand of all is surely Duck Head of Atlanta, Georgia. By 1980, when The Official Preppy Handbook was published, the brand had already been around for over a century and had a loyal following. In 2025, Duck Head will celebrate its 160th anniversary.
Duck Head was founded in 1865 by two brothers from Nashville, Tennessee – George and Joe O’Bryan – Civil War veterans who purchased army surplus duck canvas tenting material which they repurposed for work pants and shirts. The business was originally known as O’Bryan Brothers Manufacturing Company and operated out of Nashville. The brothers registered the trademark Duck Head in 1906.
During the Second World War, the company became a leading contract maker for the government of the United States, producing over five million garments. After the war, Duck Head returned to the civilian market. In 1978 – just two years before the publication of The Official Preppy Handbook – Duck Head launched what would quickly become their signature item, khaki chino pants with a gold patch on the back featuring the mallard duck logo. A store in Oxford, Mississippi near the Ole Miss campus quickly sold out.
Duck Head became the brand of choice at Southern colleges, including Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. The Official Preppy Handbook describes Hampden-Sydney as “The finishing school for Southern gentlemen” and adds that the college “issues its own etiquette book, To Manners Born, To Manners Bred for all incoming students.” (Birnbach 1980, 85) In the follow up book True Prep, author Lisa Birnbach proclaims Hampden-Sydney the preppiest college in America. In a 2017 article for Ivy-Style.com, Christopher Sharp writes:
“I was a devotee of the brand from 1986-1992. Initially Duck Head was certainly a Southern manifestation. I am reminded of this by a conversation I had with one of my college classmates, a transfer student from a Southern school, who noticed the yellow label on the back of my pants and asked how I had cracked the Hampden-Sydney dress code without ever being there.” (Sharp 2017)
In an article for Forbes published in 2000, Eileen Glanton writes, “For a preppy Southern college guy in the 1980s, Duck Head Apparel khakis were as indispensable as a pair of worn Top-siders and a pink Polo shirt.” (Glanton 2020)
While Duck Head began as a Southern brand, its popularity spread to the Northeast, making it the truly national brand it is today. Much like the bird of its namesake, Duck Head migrated. Through a bit of cultural diffusion, Duck Head was even sold in London, England, giving the brand a bit of international flair. Purveyors of preppy style including Ralph Lauren and Kiel James Patrick have expressed their admiration for the Duck Head brand. Since 2018, Duck Head has been owned by Oxford Industries, which has a portfolio of preppy heritage brands including Lilly Pulitzer and Jack Rogers.
Befitting the brand’s collegiate heritage, Duck Head visited the beautiful English Collegiate Gothic campus of Berry College in Georgia to photograph their fall collection. Architectural Digest and Travel + Leisure have ranked Berry College among the most beautiful college campuses in the United States. In the entry for the SAH Archipedia, Robert M. Craig writes:
“Harry Carlson of Boston designed these Collegiate Gothic structures in 1922 at the request of Henry Ford, who donated the complex to Berry College…An oasis in the agricultural fields at Berry College, the impressive quadrangle of Gothic Revival buildings, inspired by Oxford and executed in the spirit of a mini-Princeton University in Georgia, is incomparable.”
In a campaign reminiscent of Take Ivy, the fall collection from Duck Head features classic Ivy/Preppy items. Here are some favorites:
- Crowley Glen Plaid Sport Coat
- Pearson Herringbone Sport Coat
- Waxed Duck Canvas Jacket
- Striped Tie in Leaf Green
- Birch Fair Isle Crewneck Sweater
- Flying Mallard Intarsia Crewneck Sweater
- Rugby Shirt in Dark Forest Green
- Bradbury Wide-Wale Corduroy Chino
THE PRINT MANIFESTO in The Official Preppy Handbook states that “Prep love prints – their own particular favorite prints.” (Birnbach 1980, 123) Sporting prints are featured on ties, belts, and pants. The handbook adds that “Ducks, for the sake of verisimilitude, usually appear in a muted beige.” (Birnbach 1980, 123)
The Duck Head fall collection includes wide-wale corduroy chinos embroidered with ducks – definitely in keeping with this tradition.
SOURCES
Glanton, Eileen, “Duck Soup,” Forbes, November 13, 2000, p. 256.
Robert M. Craig, “Berry College,” [Rome, Georgia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/GA-01-115-0059.
Bought my first pair on State Street in Bristol, Va./Tenn., when I moved there (Tenn. side) for my first job after college, fall 1983. They were more TOPH than today’s brand makes, with on-seam pockets and a longer rise. Absolutely fabulous khakis. Moved back to the Commonwealth for grad school and they went with me.
[As an aside, there was a typo in TOPH, as the Hampden-Sydney book for freshmen is called “To Manner Born, To Manners Bred.”]
It was TOPH that taught me the importance of classic American male dressing. My worn and tattered copy of the Handbook is a desk reference in my library and I frequently consult it for guidance, lest I stray.
This is an excellent provenance of the Duck. My uncle was responsible for ensuring our cabin had a copy of The Official Preppy Handbook, which became a part of my summer reading every vacation growing up. He loved all things Duck Head.
The extra dive into Berry, which truly is a beautiful college campus, is much appreciated. Pieces like this bring me back to Ivy Style: short, sweet, well researched, and informative of the past and present of Ivy.
Looking forward to more.
I wish the company well. Like C. Sharp and JDV, I discovered Duck Head khakis in the 80s. In my case it was at W&L in Lexington, Va., another southern prep bastion. They were well made, all-cotton, comfortable, and most important for a student, half the price of khakis from Berle, Corbin, Brooks, etc. To make them moderately dressy, I would remove the yellow label (sacrilege!), and have them cuffed. With an OCBD and topsiders or camp mocs, it was practically a uniform for a lot of us. Add a tie, blazer, and trade the topsiders for Penny Loafers, and that was sufficient for almost any occasion.
While I did not wear Duck Head in college in the 80s, I did wear a similar attire. Now almost 40 years later still wear the same. A testament to how timeless the look is which also brings a sense of comfort.
I love the pictured Striped Tie in Leaf Green. To bad it’s not available for purchase. Photos on Ivy-Style.com are great eye candy, but I don’t open my wallet.
It was nice to read the nod to Hampden Sydney. I went to prep school with the author of To Manner Born, To Manners Bred. It was nice to experience the early to mid-1960s version of southern dress.
Unrelated sad note, from the top of r/navyblazer reddit forum
>Eljo’s Men’s Store in Charlottesville for Sale
>If we don’t secure a buyer by December we are going to have a huge retirement sale and close our doors for good.
Tragic.
also of note in VA, Highcliffe Clothiers in Middleburg is in the midst of a retirement sale. While not as long-tenured as Eljo’s, another traditional mens shop closing.
Sadly, Eljo’s was a shadow of its former self on my last visit.
The news about ELJO’s is a sign of the times. The best of this style is now made-to-measure/order and custom — mostly online retailers who, because they aren’t weighed down by the burdensome overhead of brick-and-mortar stores, can offer more for the $. Better value. Which stores will survive this moment? Those who have become adept at selling bespoke (or mostly bespoke) goods online at a reasonable price. Mercer & Sons comes to mind, as do R. Hanauer (neckwear), Rancourt (shoes), and Hertling (pants), just to name a few. I’d welcome a sport/odd jacket equivalent of Mercer.
I grew up wearing Duck Head in the early 2000s, and have loved to see the brand return in a strong way. Vividly remember the gold patch on the back of pants.