Pirate Prep

You’re on a boat. You got your flippy-floppies, but yet something seems to be missing. Perhaps you’ll want to turn to local designer Kiel James Patrick; he’ll dazzle up that bare arm of yours with a seersucker bracelet, or perhaps one constructed with rope and adorned with gold anchor detailing. Need some belt buckle bling? Fret not, pirate wanna-bes. He’ll have you looking like a gentleman (or gentlewoman) treasure hunter in no time.

It all began when Patrick was a student at an all-boys prep school. Sick of the imposed dress code, he decided to take a closer look at the parameters and discovered that they were less strict than he and his classmates had thought. “Images flashed through my mind of my Grandpa Henry taking me to the country club as a kid and me marveling at the men who had the audacity to rock brilliant pastel seersucker, bright madras, florals and conversational motif ties… all in one outfit.” Patrick rummaged through his grandfather’s closet and found blazers “that were truly blazing” and pants “that Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack would have been proud of.” He showed up to class and was a sensation. His friends all wanted in on the deal and soon he was hocking thrift store finds out of the back of his Jeep.

“Eventually the school cracked down on the dress code,” Patrick says, “and I was left with a very vibrant, but useless, wardrobe.” The innovative teen decided to chop up the ties, motif belts and plaid blazers so that he could stitch them into bracelets that he wore under his uniform. “Classmates went nuts for them, and the rest is history.” His bracelet and accessory line is now sold at 200-plus resort-style boutiques in the U.S., with global expansions underway. “Our products are 100% made in Rhode Island and Fall River. We source all materials locally.” His design studio and factory is located in a mill in Pawtucket, just over the Providence line. To get your hands on one of Patrick’s hot treasures, head to his website – and you’d better catch him quick. “What’s next? I plan on building a pirate ship and finally leaving Rhode Island for some adventures at sea with my crew.”