What's that on your swim trunks? Oh, the Paris Review. Of course. - Los Angeles Times
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What’s that on your swim trunks? Oh, the Paris Review. Of course.

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Writers of literary fiction are not typically known for their fashion sense, but maybe they can learn. Or maybe the fashionable can be turned onto literary fiction, given the opportunity.

Enter Barney’s. It has paired the Orlebar Brown clothing line with the Paris Review and things went swimmingly. Four designer swim trunks being offered this summer are based on art from the Paris Review, particularly some vintage cover designs. The swim trunks, which Barney’s writes are “tailored according to Savile Row specifications,” retail for $320.

“We wanted a way to celebrate our 60th birthday. Sixty is ancient for a literary magazine. These trunks made us feel young,” editor Lorin Stein told the Window, Barney’s blog.

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The newest artwork on the swim trunks is a simple line drawing of two women sunbathing; there’s a caption that reads “‘Poor man,’ I heard Hanna say.’” Stein explains that it’s an illustration for a work by Roberto Bolaño. He added, “is it just me, or is there something irreducibly sexy about half-naked women expressing pity for a man behind his back?”

The Bolaño illustration was created by contemporary artist Leanne Shapton. That’s a savvy wink to insiders; Shapton, a popular illustrator, was also an Olympic swimmer. She wrote about her experiences in the 2012 memoir “Swimming Studies” -- a book that included photos of the swimsuits she’s worn over the years.

There are no women’s suits in the collection, however. Maybe next summer.

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