Butt Appreciation Day 2020: The Grable

There’s something specially sexy about the Grable pose.

Her back is to you. But she’s looking over her shoulder at you and smiling.

The only logical interpretation of this illogical pose is that she is happily inviting you to stare at her butt. She just like, “Have at it.” There’s no faux candidness, like you’ve stumbled upon her while she’s luxuriating in nature. There’s no sultry glares, like she’s engaged in the deadly serious business of titillation. Just a fun “Oh you like cute butts? Enjoy!”

Three components of the Grable:

Stand.

Glance over the shoulder.

Smile.

Free-Hip Friday: Camille Kostek, 2019

2019 has a surprising dearth of free hips. This shot of Camille is from the print edition, but not in her online photos.

I like Camille a lot. I’m not sure she’s “a star is born” caliber …

… but she has a warmly sultry face and some killer curves. And she’s mastered this sexy, slouchy, hips-forward posing that suits her very well.

But SI …

… I’ve asked you politely, and I’ve asked you repeatedly, please …

… please …

… please …

… find another place for your logo.

Thumb-Hook Thursday: Cintia Dicker, 2009

Cintia's slim frame is perfect for this slouchy vamp pose. One of her best shots.

Get a High-Cut, Hippy!

I feel I’ve droned on a bit about the high-cut swimsuits of the 80s and how they shaped my interest in the female body. But I’m impressed with how well 2018 has been infused with that decade.

It’s not just the cut of the suits. It’s the color schemes, patterns, accessories — maybe even the type of posing. I don’t know enough about modeling or photography to delve into the secret sauce, but I get a deep stirring of déjà vu at how well they invoke the decade I discovered the swimsuit issue.

These shots of Vita and Kate look for all the world like posters I might have hung in my bedroom in 1987.

And Hailey in this dream of neon yellow and grape-candy purple and retro roller skates makes me feel like I’m in seventh grade again.

But yeah, that high-cut thigh. Rookie Chase Carter even touches on it a bit in her Uncovered video. (She also makes a point of name-dropping Elle Macpherson, so that earns her additional points with me.)

I like Chase. She strikes me as a cuter Hannah Davis.

She also gives us this year's top-but-no-bottom entry.

Anyway, it’s high-cut heaven. And some girls seem determined to go above and beyond. There’s a lot of grabbing the hips and pulling skyward, as if to say “You want to see an acute angle? I’ll show you an acute angle!”

This Vogue article from last summer suggests this isn’t just pastiche. We might be in the midst of a legitimate reinvigoration of this cut. (A few familiar SI faces and bodies pop up in that article.)

Count me in.

Get Your Kicks

Just got home from work, so I've barely cracked open the photos.

But thanks to the iPad selections at FSR, I note with joy that Sara has joined the ranks of models in suggested bondage.

Not sure if you meant it or not Sara, but thank you.

Now to browsing.

Happy First Day of Winter

This shot of Bridget Hall seemed like a good way to welcome the season.

Also, it seemed like a good jumping-off point to a theme.

• • •

UPDATE 9/21/19

Just randomly inspired to add Kate Bock (2017) to this collection.

Happy Birthday, Amber Smith

The Rita Hayworth lookalike is 42 today.

This is one of the most blatantly cleavage-baring shots in SI history. Obviously, cleavage is a significant part of the swimsuit issue proceedings, but offhand I could only think of two other shots that were this flagrant.

Elle Macpherson…

…and Stacey Williams.

Pretty good company.

Show Some Restraint

This is a photo upload from the swimsuit issue’s Facebook page. Apparently lack of closet space and/or hangers during the 2011 shoot resulted in an improvised method of hanging all the bikinis: they strung a room with rope.

“Rope goes a long way!” declares Darcie Baum, Assistant Editor of the swimsuit issue.

Is there a little kinky flirtation to that statement? Or am I just a pervert?

Because there is a significant category of SI pose in which the model is handling or otherwise interacting with rope…Of course, swimsuit photography repeatedly finds itself on boats and beaches, two places where rope is often handy. Sooner or later it’s going to be used as a prop. It doesn’t mean there are any B&D implications.

Except… In this photo from 2007, Anne V went beyond just posing near some rope and plunged straight into coiling it around her bikini-clad body:Also in 2007, Yesica Toscanini actually managed to get herself lassoed:And in 2003, Sarah O’Hare seemed unable to stop trussing herself up:Well, it’s still nonsense. I mean, they’re just playing with the rope. Of course it’s going to find its way around their bodies; there’s only so much you can do with a length of rope.

Well, what if we removed the rope from the equation altogether? Might there be poses that kind of look like the model is tied up, even in the absence of any actual rope?

Let’s see. Would you like her tied to a post?Maria Joao, 1978 • Stacey Williams, 1993 • May Andersen, 2003
Esti Ginzburg, 2010 • Christine Teigen, 2010
Or chained to the ceiling?Julie Henderson, 2008 • Cintia Dicker, 2009 • Bar Refaeli, 2010
Or secured to a frame?Jeisa Chiminazzo, 2008 • Jessica Gomes, 2008 • Bar Refaeli, 2009
Or spreadeagled on a couch?Rebecca Romijn, 1999
Or just standing submissive before you?Kim Alexis, 1988
Or—why not?—staked out as a sacrifice to the Kraken?Lujan Fernandez, 2001
I always thought this 2010 pic looked like Julie Henderson was some bikini-clad cattle rustler who’d been tied to the back of a horse and led into town upon her capture:Now, do I seriously believe all these are supposed to make me think of bound swimsuit models? No.

Do I believe none of them are? No.

I remember a behind-the-scenes video from 2007 (I can’t find it anymore) in which Julie Henderson and Jessica White were wandering around what looked like a Walmart. At some point, Julie picked up a fishing net and “captured” Jessica. Jessica asked, “Now that you have me, what will you do with me?” Julie said something like, “Hmmm, I’m not sure…” Then a female off-camera voice said, “It’s like a really bad porno!” And everyone laughed.

I don’t think many people would claim that the swimsuit issue is explicit. Many would call it quaint and innocent, as sexy materials go nowadays. But it is sexy, and there are certain shadowy-corner sexual triggers that can be pulled with some degree of subtlety.Food for thought.