Fruit Friday: Paulina Porizkova, 1984

I wish I had a nicer, digital copy of this photo.

But I think it’s worth sharing because, first of all, it means more Paulina, which is always welcome. And second, it led me to this “Same Suit, Different Babe” entry from the following year. Kim Alexis wore this same suit design (different color, different country, different postmark) for the 1985 issue, with the photo ending up in the 1986 calendar.

Same Suit, Different Babe: Stacey and Britta, 1993

This was hiding in plain sight for so long.

Stacey Williams and Britta Dubbels wore the same Anne Klein suit ($108) in 1993.

Stacey Williams and shiny one-piecers are right in my wheelhouse, so I'm not sure why it took me so long to see it. But better late than never!

Same Suit, Different Babe: Chase/Haley/Olivia/Barbara

As long as I’ve popped back up …

Chase Carter was one of my favorite 2018 girls. (Dare I hope for another surprise return?)

Here she is modeling for Frankies Bikinis ...

... in a little number I first saw in SI 2019, gracing the body of Haley Kalil.

And speaking of 2019, that year introduced us to Olivia Brower, whom I’d love to see again. Here she is modeling for Indah …

… in a suit that Barbara Palvin showed us in 2018.

Same Suit, Different Babe: Judit and Barbara

One last One-Piece Wednesday tidbit before I (probably) hang up the blog for another year.

In this candids video of Barbara Palvin trying on swimsuits (worth watching on its own merits, obviously), you get a couple glimpses of a certain familiar one-piece that doesn't seem to have made it into the 2018 issue.

Yep, it's the same suit Judit Masco wore in 1991. (It's literally the same brand and everything: Keiko.)

Maybe they didn't use it because it was the wrong retro decade?


See you when 2019 starts to ramp up.

Turning Back the Pages

This is old news, but here’s Paulina Porizkova wearing nothing but a bikini bottom and a book.

She shared it on her Instagram to endorse the mind-enriching act of reading and also to show off her 52-year-old body.

If she were to pull a Christie Brinkley and pop back into a swimsuit for a few shots with SI, I’d be in favor of that.

She also recently posted this German Vogue cover of Gigi Hadid wearing some sort of jumpsuit festooned with retro Vogue covers.

Paulina’s cover from September of 1986 appears twice on Gigi’s right.

And hey, here’s another Playboy! August of 1987 brought us Paulina in a foldout cover with the bunny hidden in her hair under her left triceps.

• • •

Speaking of 80s throwbacks, here’s a preview video of the 2018 swimsuit issue.

I see neon colors, check patterns, and sky-high-cut bikini bottoms. The 80s are back.

Barbara Palvin

Hailey Clauson

Chase Carter

Hailey Clauson

Robin Holzken

And SI can’t seem to stop dressing up their models as previous models. Here are some of the “final 15” from their open casting call, gathered at Miami Swim Week, whatever that was. Most or all of them seem to be wearing bikinis we first saw on other models in previous issues.

Left to right, this is Olivia Jordan, Kate de Paz, Stefanie Rachel, Keyeriah Miles, Kayla Fitzgerald, and Dessie Mitcheson.

Olivia is wearing Marisa Miller’s suit from the 2008 cover.

Kate’s bikini is similar, though not identical, to Myla Dalbesio’s from last year.

Keyeriah is clearly invoking Irina Shayk from 2011.

And Dessie is dressed as Hannah Davis from 2015.

If Stefanie’s and Kayla’s are from other years, I haven’t been able to place them. They both look like the kind of candy-colored bikinis we saw on Alyssa Miller from 2011, but I have nothing conclusive.

Anyway, we’re getting closer! I’m looking forward to it, but in kind of a mild, matter-of-fact way. I’m hoping to get more excited as time goes on.

Bock for More

Okay, so I’m popping out of retirement to point out something I find amazing about the 2016 swimsuit issue.

Kate Bock appears in this bikini:

 

…which is the same suit that I pointed out had been worn by both Julie Henderson and Esti Ginzburg back in 2010, six years ago:

 

That means we have a “Same Suit, Different Babe” scenario that spans three models and more than half a decade.

I don’t know if someone just lost track of the suits or what. I would have thought they’d try to focus on fairly new designs, but somehow this bikini stuck around.

So while I’m here, I thought I’d give a “State of the Swimsuit Issue” address: The state of the swimsuit issue is strong. I thought 2014 was a step forward, but 2015 slid backwards a little bit. But 2016 seems to have minimal Photoshopping, plus tons of giant, crisp, super-saturated photos. I love this issue.

• • •

Since we’re on the subject of Kate Bock: Wow. 2013 Rookie of the Year Kate Bock. Porcelain-and-spun-sugar Kate Bock. Pretty, blue-eyed, blonde, straightforward Kate Bock. This year, she found some sultriness that I don’t normally associate with her.

This suit is a little weird, but great:

Unfortunately, it only appears in her online videos.

There’s not a single picture of her wearing it in her 39 online photos, which is a crime.

And—AND—she adds her name to the list of girls who’ve gone bottomless.

So does Chanel Iman:

And, I think, maybe, covergirl Hailey Clauson:

And Rose Bertram is definitely nude below sea level in this video:

• • •

Another thing to address is Ashley Graham. You don’t need a reminder, but she’s the plus-size rookie who got one of the three covers. She goes beyond last year’s rookie Robyn Lawley: Ashley is a full-on curvapalooza.

And this being the internet, plenty of people have raised a fuss about it. Some of them got real cruel and awful in their online comments. They are all assholes.

Ashley may not be your cup of tea. Heck, she may not be mine. But even my least favorite SI model far outranks my most favorite internet asshole, so I’ll say this: Ashley Graham is beautiful. And she’s taking a lot of abuse for her appearance, during this event in her life that should be joyful for her—I’m sure she sees the lousy things that idiots are saying about her. But she’s a pioneer, and I support her 100%.

And frankly, if you can’t see the sex appeal in photos like this:

…then your balls have not yet dropped.

More thoughts later.

Same Suit, Different Babe: Genevieve and Paulina

This week has become a Porizkovapalooza! No complaints here.

Swim Daily posted this shot of Genevieve as part of yesterday’s “Swimstagram” segment.

It may not be exactly the same suit as this one Paulina wore on the cover of Life magazine a few months before Genevieve was born. But it’s pretty damn close.

Happy Birthday, Gigi Hadid

She’s—holy cow—twenty years old today.

She was just heralded by People magazine as one of the World’s Most Beautiful Women.

So let’s celebrate with a look back at her awkward teen years. Here’s 2014:

…and 2015.

Plus, some Swim Daily Polaroids revealed that she was a “Same Suit, Different Babe” twin with Hannah Davis her first year.

Hannah, in turn, shared this cute bikini bottom with Sara Sampaio.

It’s nice to see everyone getting along so well.