Perfect Tens

These are my ten favorite SI models who’ve been introduced to us during this blog’s existence (not counting the one-hit wonders, who got their own list).

#10 Haley Kalil (model search 2018, rookie 2019)

(Yep, she’s new, but I have good feelings about her.)

First appearance: March 24, 2018, A Real Camille & Kalil Reveal

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#9 Myla Dalbesio (2017)

First appearance: February 7, 2017, Christie’s Back

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#8 Hannah Ferguson (2014)

First appearance: February 5, 2014, Latest Rookie Reveal: Hannah Ferguson

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#7 Emily DiDonato (2013)

First appearance: February 5, 2013, Countdown: 7 Days to Go

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#6 Bo Krsmanovic (2016)

First appearance: February 14, 2017, Northern Exposure

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#5 Rose Bertram (2015)

First appearance: February 2, 2015, Rookie reveal #3: Rose Bertram

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#4 Hailey Clauson (2015)
First appearance: May 5, 2014, A Bit of a Shayk-Up

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#3 Barbara Palvin (2016)

First appearance: November 18, 2012, Missing the Complexities (several years before she was an SI girl!)

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#2 Lais Ribeiro (2017)

First appearance: February 7, 2017, Christie’s Back

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#1 Sara Sampaio (2014)

First appearance: February 4, 2014, Whaddaya Want, a Rookie?

The ranking is subject to change, depending on whichever recent photos I've seen. (UPDATE: In fact, I just moved Barbara Palvin up to #3. I previously had her at #5 for some reason.) I had to make some tough cuts. Vita Sidorkina and Kelsey Merritt were the last to be dismissed. Sorry, girls, I love you all!

Underboob Monday: Bo Krsmanovic, 2016

Good lord, this woman.

Bo-nus: Here she is sheltering in place with Solveig.

Not Quite Finnish

Hailey Clauson and Bo Krsmanovic were such an iconic duo in 2017, huddled together against the icy Finnish landscape…

… that a year later Beach Bunny swimwear reunited them (in a warmer climate) to model some of their highly deserving swimsuit designs.

The shoot is listed as “Festival 2018,” but I have no idea if that’s a line of swimwear, or some kind of event, or what.

Hailey models the "Tango Bottom."

Bo's is listed as the “Skimpy Bottom” for some reason.

Their SI shoot was one of a handful of multi-girl shoots we’ve been treated to in recent years. I’m glad this chocolate-and-peanut-butter pairing was explored at least one more time.

A couple years ago, the SI Swimsuit app disappeared. I miss it. It often had more (and larger) photos than what you could find on the site. And occasionally you’d find a weird little mistake left over from an editing tweak, like the way they tilted and clone-stamped this Sam Hoopes pic to create what they thought was a better angle.

Bregje got a similar treatment.

The app is how I found this interesting pair of Hailey/Bo Finland photos.

You may notice that Hailey and Bo, as well as every square inch of the background, are identical in both pics. The only difference is the “reindeer staging,” as they call it in the swimsuit modeling industry.

They manipulated the pic to move the deer. The original photo is the one with the deer that’s (1) farther away from the sled and (2) turned away from the camera. They wanted a more photogenic placement. Here’s a translucent overlay of the two pics.

Even the reindeer’s body is the same. They got a head from a different reindeer photo and affixed it to this one.

Why can’t SI let reindeer embrace their bodies as they are without unrealistic, photoshopped expectations?

ROTY Revisited: 2016, 2017

2016: Who won?
Barbara Palvin.

Who should have won?
Barbara Palvin. I can’t argue with her at all. But if pressed for a runner-up, I’d pick Bo Krsmanovic, who does similar things to my heart and mind.

• • •

2017: Who won?
Bianca Balti.

Who should have won?
Lais Ribiero. This is one of the few where I have an ironclad correction for SI: Lais is one of the most gorgeous women to appear in SI this century.

Kelly Gale would have also been a magnificent choice, and I’m still bummed she was a one-and-done.

But yeah. Lais. All the way.

• • •

This was actually illuminating for me. I expected to have more instances of strong disagreement with SI's choices, but they were by and large pretty solid.

I also had this idea that ROTYs don't last for very many issues, but that's not necessarily true either. By my calculations, the average ROTY stint is about 4.2 years, whereas the entire rookie class during that nine-year period sticks around for about 2.3 years.

So, who's the Rookie of the Year for 2019? No idea!

Thumb-Hook Thursday: Bo Krsmanovic, 2017

As you may have noticed, my mid-week themed posts have all featured one magnificent woman.

As a bonus, here's Bo from 2016 in one of those rare photos that could have been used for Topless Tuesday, One-Piece Wednesday, or Thumb-Hook Thursday.

She could do it all, that Bo.

One-Piece Wednesday: Bo Krsmanovic, 2017

Speaking of Bo's nipples...

SI has really stopped hiding them, haven't they.

Come back, Bo!

Topless Tuesday: Bo Krsmanovic (and Emily DiDonato), 2016

So yeah, you can pretty much see Bo's nipple in this shot. A full year before I noticed Bianca's.

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UPDATE 9/8/19: Emily DiDonato. Same year. Same angle. Same result. Eat your heart out, Bianca!

Calendar Girls, Revisited: 1992 Part 1

1992 provided an excellent crop of swimsuit models.

On February 12, under the Everhart zodiac sign, Valerie van der Graaf arrived.

The following week, under Ashley's watchful one-piece, we met newly minted rookie Camille Kostek.

Soon after, on March 1, Judit Masco introduced us to Bo Krsmanovic.

Then on March 26 (quite an eventful couple of months), Nina Agdal arrived, under the lounging figure of Monica Bellucci.

In Memoriam

I’m planning a lawsuit against Sports Illustrated.

A few months ago, I mapped out my ideal 2018 swimsuit issue. It included eight 2017 models I’d have loved to see come back.

SI got rid of three of them.

It’s very tough to lose Bo Krsmanovic, Hannah Ferguson, and Rose Bertram. I feel like there must be intolerable cruelty or breach of contract or some legal concept I can use to get those girls back.

Anyway, let’s survey the damage.

Bo Krsmanovic

I could have seen Bojana come back over and over again for years. This dark, Serbian beauty had a lot more swimsuit in her.

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Rose Bertram

I’m even more torn up by the loss of this cute, bubbly, buxom young woman.

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Hannah Ferguson

And the centerpiece. Hannah F was a sleek, blonde bombshell, and I can’t believe she’s gone.

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Hannah Davis

Hannah D (or Hannah J if you prefer) was a staple and will be missed. Though as I’ve mentioned before, I think we have a good replacement in Chase Carter.

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Nina Agdal

It was a respectable run for Nina! Six years. Looking at her photos, it’s clear how the Photoshop waxed and waned. (Look how Vaseline-smeared her 2013 shot is.)

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Chrissy Teigen

And this is the end of an era. Chrissy was the last remaining model who was active when this blog had its first post on June 1, 2010. The turnover is complete