The Big Gold Patch - An American Icon Returns

In 1978, a 113-year-old workwear brand from Nashville needed to reinvent itself for a new and energetic generation. A change that was big, bold, and stood out from the crowd.

That’s when the legendary Duck Head khakis with the “Big Gold Patch” were born. First introduced on campus at Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi, the word quickly spread by savvy southern students attending colleges across the country. The khakis became such a symbol of the university experience that they graced the cover of the 1983 Washington & Lee Calyx yearbook. The pant was so synonymous with khaki chinos that many thought all khakis were called “Duck Heads”.

In 1993 Duck Head launched the “Can’t Get Them Old ‘Til You Get Them New” campaign which outlined the journies of several pairs of broken in Duck Head chinos borrowed from students at the University of Georgia.

The Big Gold Patch was a badge of honor. The bright label that could be easily recognized across the campus quad was a sign of “if you know, you know”. The patch was as irreverent as the college students who would ring in summer by cutting them off into shorts and wearing them to see their favorite jam band.

To celebrate the 45th anniversary of this piece of American clothing heritage, we’re bringing back a limited-edition, small batch run of Big Gold Patch chinos. They’re better than you remember and sure to strike up fond memories at tailgates this fall. Get ‘em while we got ’em because these won’t last long.