Two-Pièce de Résistance: All-Star Cover Girls, 2006

I know I’m on record saying that more than two girls in a single photo is overkill. But …

Photo: Raphael Mazzucco

This one is different. These girls aren’t posing. They’re standing around in an unguarded moment. Some them seem to be laughing at a comment one of them made. They’re not twisting their bodies or finding their light or trying to tilt their “best sides” to the camera. They’re just … kind of … standing there. Being beautiful.

This particular shot is from Mazzucco’s book Exposure. The shoot is full of sultry, posed shots: one girl, two girls, all eight girls, purring at the camera, lounging on the sand, resting their bodies upon other bodies. “Heaven” is a great title for Walter Iooss Jr.’s swimsuit book, but it might even be more appropriate for Mazzucco’s. The fact that they’re all in white lends it an extra sense of eternal paradise.

I mean, good lord.

There’s something I find amazing about multi-girl shoots that I don’t think I’ve mentioned before.

Sara and Gigi, Julie and Jessica, Angie and Rebecca, Ashley and everyone — each girl knows she’s not only offering up her body as a male fantasy, she’s also allowing herself to be half that male fantasy. She’s collaborating with another model, knowing she won’t even be the exclusive focus of the male gaze. It’s that “objectification” thing I keep trying to describe (without sounding like a creep) — but multiplied.

Even now, after decades of looking at the swimsuit issue, I still have this joyful bewilderment that the models are okay with us looking. It’s that “permission” I’ve mentioned before. Every time a model in an interview makes some fun, winking, giggly reference to how small her swimsuit is, or how much skin she’s exposing, it brings a smile to my face. And here we have eight smiling models, all in on it together.

In the Palm of Your Sand

Like all red-blooded American males, I look to the swimsuit issue for one thing: tips on using coconut oil in my day-to-day life. Swim Daily came through with recommended products for hair care, skin care, and, um, lube.

So let us celebrate that most platonic ideal of tropical fruit, the coconut, which obviously makes several appearances in our favorite magazine. In fact, I bet there are lots more examples I’ve missed.

And just for the obligatory “Put the Lime in the Coconut” reference…

Pestova, Passed Over

Stumbled upon the website of Michael Reinhardt, a photographer who shot for the 1995 swimsuit issue. He features a couple of shots of Daniela Pestova that are alternate poses for photos from that year.

I’m a big fan of heretofore unknown photos of swimsuits I’m familiar with.

He also has a few non-swimsuit magazine shots of some of our favorite girls. He lumps all of these under the category “vintage,” which is another great reminder that I’m old.

Topless Tuesday: Rachel Hunter, 2006

I know I said no more white swimsuits, but let's make an exception for birthday girl Rachel Hunter.

And a couple of her friends.

Happy 45th.

One-Hit Wonder: Carla Maria, 2002

This gorgeous model was only in a single issue.

While poking around online for info about her, I found this slide show from Entertainment Weekly of a 2002 SI launch party. There’s a bit of a mental disconnect when you see some of the suits on the wrong models.

Shakara Ledard’s coffee bean bikini…

…is clearly where it belongs: on Shakara, on the right.

But Carla, on the left, is wearing a flowery top that clearly belongs to Ana Beatriz Barros. And Marisa Miller is wearing Daniela Pestova’s lime bikini.

Later in that slide show, Bridget Hall…

…is wearing Heidi Klum’s money suit.

It’s another variation on “Same Suit, Different Babe,” one that was lying hidden online for 12 years.

Has the Swimsuit Issue Gotten Too Explicit? (4)

When I did a recent post about the acknowledgement (or lack thereof) of the models’ nether-regions, I realized I forgot to include this Kate Upton shot.

Just like the Julie Henderson “One time, at band camp…” pic, this was put up on the official SI Swimsuit Issue Facebook page, with the predictable crude responses by internet dimwits.

On the other hand, there’s a subgenre of shots that feature that area of the model’s body in a way that gives it a bit of a divine look.

Light from the sun flares through the “gap,” creating a bit of a halo.

Definitely not an accident.

Sinful yet holy, hidden yet accentuated, scorned yet praised. I’m sure there’s some deep feminist social criticism to be constructed here, but my job is mainly to observe and enjoy.

My Humps, My Humps

I haven’t done an animal entry in a while.

(Quick refresher: dogs, sheep/goats, parrots.)

The girls find themselves in a lot of deserts, so it makes sense that they’d interact with a camel here and there.

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).