Free-Hip Friday: Lujan Fernandez, 1999

Thumb-Hook Thursday: Lujan Fernandez, 2000

I've been focusing almost exclusively on the 2018 issue, and I think my takes have been winding down for the year. So let's head back 18(?!) years to view the lovely Lujan Fernandez.

The photos were so much smaller back then, with much fewer pixels per inch.

I just remembered, back in 2013 I ranked Lujan at number 28 on my all-time greatest swimsuit models list.

We've had five swimsuit issues since then. I sometimes wonder how different the list would be if I compiled it today. I have to imagine recent obsessions like Sara Sampaio and Hannah Ferguson would make it this time around. Rose Bertram? Lais Ribeiro? Barbara Palvin? Would Raven Lyn make it after one appearance or would I need a few more years of her to know?

And who would fall off? I always acknowledged the rankings were subject to whims, so it wouldn't necessarily be the bottom girls who disappeared.

Anyway, the beautiful girls keep coming. And despite the extracurricular material around this year's swimsuit issue, there's still plenty of obsession-worthy models to 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.

50 Greatest Swimsuit Models, #30-21

I've gone back over the last two entries and added explanations, defenses, and flailing justifications.

30: Kim Cloutier

Oh, how I wish she had a few more years with SI.

29: Jessica White

A lot has been made of Anne V, but Jessica quietly put together 8 appearances (with a break in 2006). It would have been nice to see her follow Tyra and become only the second (non-Beyonce) black woman to appear on the cover.

28: Lujan Fernandez

27: Kenza Fourati

I feel like I may be the president, secretary, and treasurer of the Kenza Fourati Fan Club. Not sure she made much of an impression on anyone else, but I'm still obsessed with her, two years later.

26: Jarah Mariano

25: Fernanda Motta

24: Stephanie Seymour

23: Noemie Lenoir

22: Angie Everhart

Cintia Dicker has a lot of buzz among swimsuit fans, but Angie's the SI redhead I would choose if I could only have one.

21: Marisa Miller

I had a bit of a conversion a couple years ago and became a fan. I think she might have reignited the idea of a household-name SI girl.

Swimsuit Approval Ratings: The One-Piece (Wednesday) Swimsuit

The One-Piece Swimsuit (65% approval rating) ‘Few women sport one-pieces despite the traditional swimwear's resurgence on the runway — and despite the fact that the majority of men like them. In fact, 65 percent prefer the look, as opposed to only 35 percent who don't. The only rule? Some men said they like the style as long as it's still sexy and doesn't look like the woman is trying out for the Olympic swim team.’

Paulina Porizkova, 1989

Lujan Fernandez, 2001

Veronica Varekova, 2002

Carolyn Murphy, 2004

Upton Fatigue

Interesting observation: When I happened across the Kate Upton Easter Bunny video last weekend, my knee-jerk reaction was, “Again?”

Maybe Kate is a teensy bit overexposed.

These two stories were side-by-side on my Yahoo news feed the other morning:One story is a video about Kate’s appearance as a sexy nun in the Three Stooges movie.The other addresses whether she wore a dress better or worse than Mila Kunis.True, she’s referred to as “model” in both headlines. And true, the fashion critic gives Mila the edge in the red-dress-off. But it’s telling that, according to the list of “labels” on the right of this screen, Kate has been featured in more posts (25) than any other model on this blog. (With this post, she leapfrogs Irina Shayk’s 24.) This is a girl who came on the SI radar barely a year ago. Perhaps we’re a little oversaturated with her?

In honor of her sexy habit, maybe I’ll declare a Kate Lent. Do you think I can go six weeks without posting about her?

Goodbye for now, Kate! See you after May 26!
Meanwhile, let’s yield the floor to some models I’ve neglected.

Manon

Oluchi Onweagba

Melissa Baker

Aline Nakashima

Melissa Keller

Lorraine Pascale

Lujan Fernandez