The Smart Set

What is the well-dressed crime novelist wearing these days? Well, probably not the fancy duds in which Arena magazine has clad what it terms “six of the best thriller writers in Britain today.” But hey, when did magazine fashion spreads set out to be realistic? They are fantasy, pure and simple. And since these half-dozen authors--Charles Cumming, Tony Black, Nick Stone, and the rest--deal in fantasy every day, they are the ideal models for clothes that might normally be draped upon the likes of James Bond.

I don’t see this full feature from the October issue of Arena being available anywhere on the Web--at least not yet. But here are the fashion shots as they are posted on photographer Nick Turpin’s site. And here’s a slide show of what Turpin and his undoubtedly reluctant models went through to create the spreads.

Nice threads, guys. It’s only too bad you’re having to compete in this issue with Swedish supermodel Caroline Winberg. I suspect there might be fewer men’s magazine buyers looking at how you are dressed than at how she’s undressed.

(Hat tip to Tony Black.)