Wednesday, August 31, 2011

White One-Piece Wednesday: Stacey Williams, 1993

Part three of White Swimsuit Week, as always, falls on One-Piece Wednesday. Here’s Stacey Williams.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Monday, August 29, 2011

White Swimsuit Week, 2011: Part One

It is the week before Labor Day. That means we begin saying goodbye to summer, and it’s the last week you’re allowed to wear white. So let’s parade some white swimsuits while it is still legal to do so.

First, the aptly named Jessica White, from 2004.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

2012 Mystery Models

MJ Day tweeted this today:The link takes you to this photo:I ... can't begin to imagine what exactly is going on here. But I have a strong feeling that the girl on the right is Julie Henderson. She has that small horizontal crease just above her navel:As for the other girl, dunno... Alyssa Miller?

Here are a few other preview shots from MJ, for your speculation pleasure.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

2011 in Review

So, we’re half a year past the 2011 issue. Let’s take a look back.

Weirdest Suits
Brooklyn Decker’s lion design.
Damaris Lewis’s “groped-by-shadows” one-piece.
Kenza Fourati’s bikini bottom constructed of jimmies.
Oddest Trend
Coral as decorative fan.
Toplessest Girl
Jessica White appears without her top in 9 of her 42 online photos, which is over 21%.
Most Amazing Outie
Izabel Goulart’s bellybutton enters a room a few seconds before the rest of her does.
Most Titillating Revelation
Shannan Click has done some bondage photography, and not just in the suggestive way my sick brain tends to see.A couple years ago, she did some sort of artsy/kinky fashion spread for something called Exit magazine. (NSFW)
Early 2012 Cover Predictions?
#3: Brooklyn Decker
#2: Julie Henderson
#1: Kate Upton

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

One-Piece Wednesday: Irina Shayk, 2011

It's been six months. We're halfway to the 2012 swimsuit issue. Here's the 2011 cover girl in one of the very few one-piecers from that year.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Marisa of Disguise

There exists a series of photos of Marisa Miller recreating shots of prominent models throughout the swimsuit issue’s history. I am ashamed to say that I’m not sure of the story behind them.

I got it into my head that they were released in 2004 as part of the 40th anniversary issue. (The SI.com gallery of Marisa seems to support that.) But I have the 2004 issue, and these photos of Marisa don’t appear in it.

I have seen some video footage of Marisa’s shoot, but I can’t seem to find it online anymore.

The confusion is compounded by the fact that a lot of the original photos on SI.com seem to be labeled as if part of the 50th anniversary. (For example, the files of Cheryl’s and Heidi’s are labeled 50th_ctiegs_01.jpg and 50th_hklum_01.jpg, respectively.) But the 50th anniversary won’t happen for a few more years.

Nevertheless, the shots are fascinating. With Marisa recreating, as accurately as possible, the swimsuit shots of models from previous decades, she creates the sensation of two women in the same bikini, a superconcentrated supermodel.

Marisa as Cheryl Tiegs (1978)Marisa has more curves up top, and fewer down below, than Cheryl did. But I’m impressed that they were willing to show the fishnet in all (or most) of its translucent glory.

Marisa as Christie Brinkley (1981)Frankly, I think there are better photos of Christie, but it’s hard to argue with that expanse of silky skin (X2).

Marisa as Paulina Porizkova (1985)Again, Marisa’s “modern” breast size interferes with the accuracy of this one, but a pretty beautiful setup.

Marisa as Kathy Ireland (1986)This one might be the best. Done up like this, even Marisa’s face looks like Kathy’s. If I didn’t know this was an impostor, I might not have even suspected.

Marisa as Elle Macpherson (1990)I miss the sheen on Elle’s midriff. Pretty gorgeous, though.

Marisa as Stacey Williams (1993)I’m thrilled that they did Stacey. Sadly, this was the one I had the hardest time finding a pic of online. The Marisa shot seems to be from a print magazine, but which print magazine?

Marisa as Daniela Pestova (1995)They went a little too severe on the hair, but otherwise a very convincing simulacrum.

Marisa as Tyra Banks (1997)This could have been touchy, but they played it well. Just dye Marisa’s hair black, don’t worry about the skin tone. Also, Marisa’s boob-to-hip ratio seems to be best suited for reproducing Tyra.

Marisa as Sarah O’Hare (1999)Interesting. Sarah O’Hare is the least “household” of the names on this list, and she only did two issues. But I think this one is more about the sand-kini than the girl wearing it.

Marisa as Heidi Klum (2000)Wow. The snake shot? Well, if you’re lucky enough to find two non-ophidiophobic swimsuit models within a five-year period, you have to go for it.

Marisa was the perfect model to do this. She had done a lot to reinvigorate the idea of the SI girl as a well-known object of worship. (Heidi Klum filled that position beautifully, but she’d been out of regular circulation for a couple years by 2004. She returned for some 1940s bodypainting for 2006 and a weird Will Ferrell movie tie-in for 2008.)

But even more importantly, she functioned well as a blank slate onto which the prominent beauties of years past could be projected.

(Though I have to admit, as Marisa Miller Week draws to a close, I have a new appreciation for her. She’s not as “cookie-cutter” or generic as I thought; those eyebrows and that smirk and those warm eyes do set her apart.)

Friday, August 12, 2011

Marisa, Marisa, Marisa

As long as we’re Marisa Millering, here are a couple items from a few months ago.

To celebrate Memorial Day, Marisa tweeted a couple shots from a Harley-Davidson "bombshell" campaign from a few years back.
Also in May, she was featured in a nice bikini spread for Esquire.This pose:…puts me in mind of this one from SI:Okay, I’m kind of drunk on Marisa right now. I’m coming around.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

One-Piece Wednesday: Marisa Miller, 2003

It seems to be Marisa Miller Week around here, so let's keep it rolling.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Panty-disestablishmentarianism

Guyism.com recently listed their picks for the 100 Sexiest Lingerie Models in the World. 17 of them are swimsuit issue girls, four of whom have been on the cover.

If Sports Illustrated is the models’ day job, here are the girls in their night jobs.

#77: Jessica Hart

#73: Jessica Perez

#52: Jarah Mariano

#49: Cintia Dicker

#45: Ana Beatriz Barros

#42: Alyssa Miller

#26: Brooklyn Decker

#24: Shannan Click

#23: Marisa Miller

#21: Raica Oliveira

#20: Izabel Goulart

#17: Isabeli Fontana

#12: Kate Upton

#10: Selita Ebanks

#7: Kim Cloutier

#6: Irina Shayk

#4: Bar Refaeli

Long live unmentionables!