Friday, January 31, 2014

Weekly Planner Week, Part 5

Say you’re a 17-year-old swimsuit issue enthusiast, and you’ve just begun September on your 1990 desk calendar (or, as it happens, “diary”). You flip over to the week of September 2, and there’s the lovely Rachel Hunter, dressed not in a bikini but in shorts and a cutoff top.
“Well,” you think, “they’ve provided me with eight months of bodies to ogle, they’ve earned a tamer, behind-the-scenes photo.”

Then a week later you flip again, to the week of September 9, and you see another fully dressed girl, this time Estelle Lefebure.
And that’s how the swimsuit desk calendar became a fully clothed desk calendar for half a month.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Weekly Planner Week, Part 4

A few more redundancies from the desk calendars.

9/26/93: “Vendela knows her net worth.”
8/7/95: “Aya ponders her net worth.”

4/8/90: “Things are looking up for Elle.”
5/8/95: “Everything’s looking up for Stacey.”

2/4/90: “A giant step for Ashley.”
7/17/95: “One giant leap for Patricia.”

1/19/92: “A starring role for Judit.”
8/14/95: “Lana plays a starring role.”

12/29/92 (93 calendar): “Stephanie poses no problem.”
11/21/94: “Kathy poses no problems.”

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Bonus One-Piece Wednesday: Hannah Davis, 2014

Swim Daily just released their first official peek at the 2014 issue, and it features some nice one-piecers filled ably by the DirecTV Genie herself, Hannah Davis.
She looks pretty beautiful. Good to have her back.

Weekly Planner One-Piece Wednesday

Some more redundant captions with no bikinis in sight.

6/16/91: “The friendly skies of Maria.”
4/1/96: “Fly the friendly skies with Robin.”

7/26/92: “Kathy is poetry in print.”
7/3/95: “Kate is poetry in patterns.”

10/10/93: “All that glitters is Kathy.”
3/27/95: “All that glitters is Roshumba.”

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Weekly Planner Week, Part 2

From 1990 to 1996, each week of the desk calendars featured a little pithy/punny comment on that week’s photo, courtesy of Jule Campbell. While looking through them, I noticed that Jule used the exact same caption in 1994 and 1996, right down to the model:

“Ingrid gets a leg up.” (5/23/94, 1/1/96)
There are only so many little puns you can make on the subject of swimsuit models (believe me, I know), so there’s bound to be some repeated sentiments. In consecutive years, she gets a little rhymeful and refers to Estelle Lefebure as “la belle Estelle.”

6/24/90: “La belle Estelle in jungle camouflage.”
3/17/91: “Pink suits la belle Estelle.”

Here are a few more.

5/2/93: “Angie thinks she’s being shadowed.”
6/17/96: “Rebecca is sure she’s being shadowed.”

8/1/93: “Angie plays all the angles.”
8/26/96: “Judit’s got all the angles.”

12/5/94: “Amber on the rocks.”
9/9/96: “Daniela on the rocks.”

9/8/91: “Judit’s tickled pink and isn’t telling.”
12/30/96: “Rebecca is tickled pink.”

11/18/90: “Elle takes the bow.”
4/21/91: “Kathy takes the bow.”

More all week (since I'm sure you find this as fascinating as I do).

Monday, January 27, 2014

Weekly Planner Week, Part 1

We’re a month into 2014, and I haven’t talked about the desk calendar yet. Chrissy Teigen is this year’s cover girl.

I have every single desk calendar, since the first one in 1990. That’s 25. A quarter century’s worth.

They’re stacked in a box. I don’t look at them much anymore, except to try to track down a photo to scan. But I’ll keep buying them for completist’s sake. Who knows, I may be sitting on some kind of eBay goldmine.
In any case, some cover trivia.

The first two were called “diaries.” Perhaps that didn’t sound masculine enough, because from 1992-2002 they were called “desk calendars,” and since then simply “calendars.”

Kathy Ireland and Marisa Miller are tied for first for the most desk calendar covers at three apiece. Kathy has 1991, 1994, and 1997. Marisa is the Christie Brinkley/Elle Macpherson of desk calendars, with three consecutive covers from 2007 to 2009.

For her part, the real Elle Macpherson has two covers (1992 and 1995), tying her with Heidi Klum (1999, 2000), Bridget Hall (2003, 2005), and Brooklyn Decker (2010, 2011).

Four times in history has the cover girl of the swimsuit issue been the cover girl of the associated (i.e., following year’s) calendar. Elle was on the cover of the 1994 issue and the 1995 calendar. Heidi did the same in 1998/1999, Marisa has 2008/2009, and Brooklyn has 2010/2011.
Heidi's 1998/99 cover and Marisa’s 2008/09 cover were the only times the cover of the desk calendar was the same photo as the cover of the associated issue.

Another four times, the cover model of the calendar then appeared on that same year’s issue. Vendela did in in 1993, Kathy in 1994, Marisa in 2008, and Brooklyn Decker in 2010.

Six rookies have made the desk calendar cover. Vendela (1993 calendar), Manon (1996), Niki Taylor (1998), Heidi (1999), Bridget (2003), and Alyssa Miller (2012).

Three models made the cover their final years in the issue: Elle (1995 calendar)*, Kathy (1997), and Marisa (2009).
*Not counting the 2006 all-star issue.

Friday, January 17, 2014