One-Piece Wednesday: Vendela, 1992

I'm kind of surprised at how many variations I have of this shot.

SI South Africa Swimsuit

The South Africa swimsuit issue is out, and covergirl Genevieve Morton makes a good showing.

As does the elfin Michelle Vawer.

Catrinel Menghia is a marvel. I see why she was a favorite for the model search a couple years ago.

Candice Boucher is a model who I think is actually pretty famous. Since I mainly know about SI models, she’s new to me. She’s pretty spectacular too, with her Didonato-esque eyes.

Jayden Robinson is pretty gorgeous too:

…as is Nicole Meyer:

There seems to be a little less blatant retouching. It would be great to see that ease over into the Western/Northern hemisphere.

Getting the Drift

This is kind of cool. Yesterday, Swim Daily had a story about that pair of photos of Ashley Richardson and Rachel Hunter on that giant piece of driftwood. (I mentioned them in this post, having just found out about the Rachel one on Robert Huntzinger’s website.)

Apparently, the photos were taken on two separate trips: first with Rachel, then with Ashley. Huntzinger wrote:

“For the 1990 issue, we shot in St. Vincent. I noticed this huge piece of driftwood floating and we dragged it up on the beach. I took a shot of Rachel Hunter with the driftwood, and we went back to New York and they told me they wanted me to go back down. The original was shot in 35 millimeter, and they wanted me to shoot it in 4-by-5, which gives you a sharper image, and they wanted me to get the clouds differently. So back we went. Rachel Hunter was not available, so we took Ashley Richardson and the wood was still on the beach. The photo became a four-page foldout, with Ashley Richardson lying on this humongous piece of driftwood.”

I fondly remember that four-page foldout. But I feel kind of bad for Rachel, since it sounds like she missed out on it. So I’m happy to see an additional pic of Rachel accompanies the story!

The anecdote is apparently in 50 Years of Beautiful, which by accounts I’ve heard is a pretty massive, high-quality piece of work. And the cover girl, according to the Bellazon freckle forensics squad, is Nina Agdal.

And speaking of covers, SI is allowing you, the viewing public, to vote on the best swimsuit cover of all time. Of course, we all know that Elle Macpherson's 1987 cover is the greatest, but please, feel free to vote on numbers 2 through 50!

One-Piece Wednesday: Christie Brinkley, 1978

Christie Brinkley went on The Today Show to plug 50 Years of Beautiful (just ordered my copy). Meanwhile, the folks at Bellazon have been monitoring internet chatter and have determined that an alarming number of swimsuit issue cover models seem to have been converging on NYC, possibly for some massive reunion shoot.

So let's honor this all with a beautiful photo of Christie I found on Walter Iooss's site.

Topless Tuesday: Jarah Mariano, 2009

Gorgeous.

One-Hit Wednesday: Kristy Hinze & Michelle Vawer

Happy 34th birthday to the bee-stung-lipped Kristy Hinze, whose only appearance was the 2000 issue and doesn't seem to be sporting a one-piece in any of her photos.

And her fellow one-hit wonder Michelle Vawer (2012) is one of the models slated to appear in the upcoming South African swimsuit issue...

...along with Genevieve Morton...

 

...and model search contestant from a couple years ago, Catrinel Menghia.

Has the Swimsuit Issue Gotten Too Explicit? (3)

So there’s a bit of commotion swirling around Chrissy Tiegen and Brooklyn Decker of late, thanks to this video of Chrissy giving Brooklyn a—um—“vagina raspberry.”

They’re very close. They even switch bottoms. Or tops, not sure which.

The video was picked up by Swim Daily.

Interesting. Boobs and butts are common territory, even getting their own “cams” dedicated to them. And legs? They’re pretty quaint, as objects of desire go.

But the aforementioned V-word is generally the unmentioned body part in re: the swimsuit issue. This is interesting, considering the fact that a woman’s bathing suit is essentially an arrow pointing to it.

My ongoing effort to track every instance of a girl wearing a top but not a bottom drove home what a taboo that area is, the most overtly sexual of the models’ sexual zones.

I do remember a behind-the-scenes video of Tori Praver in this shot:

…talking about how a kid who happened to be behind them on the beach at that moment was about to glimpse his “first female vagina.” I can’t find that footage anywhere, but I know I didn’t dream it. I wonder if it was deemed too dirty by SI and pulled.

But then there’s this interview with Alyssa Miller, in which she divulges one of the secrets of bodypainting: the pussy flap.

Somehow the missing “L” makes it even more apt.

It allows for that area to look as smooth and harmless in paint as it looks in a bikini bottom. It’s a rare instance of that part of the anatomy coming to the forefront. We Americans have a squeamish relationship to that organ, despite our fascination with the female body.

Exhibit A: the pussy flap.

Anyway, one of the few other instances of this phenomenon is this photo of Julie Henderson, posted on the SI Swimsuit Facebook page last summer.

The (official!) caption reads, “One time, at band camp…” Those of you who are familiar with the movie “American Pie” know the rest of the line.

It’s yet another manifestation of my contradictory attitude toward the swimsuit issue. Of course it’s sexual. But can’t you let me hold on to my fantasy that it’s a little more innocent than that?

I guess not.

One-Piece Wednesday: Stephanie Seymour, 1988

Bonus Topless Tuesday: Rebecca Romijn, 1994

Rebecca has a nice little Funny or Die video up, advertising her "hand bra."

I believe it's in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so it's titillation with a heart!

Topless Tuesday: Julie Henderson, 2008

One-Hit One-Pic One-Piece Wednesday: Sarah Nursey, 1985

Sarah pulled another Cindy Crawford/Amber Noelle Yahtzee move: only one issue, and only one photo in that issue.

Topless Tuesday: Daniella Sarahyba, 2009