Happy Birthday, Yamila Diaz

I've always loved this photo. How do you make a bikini-clad Yamila even more of a male fantasy? Surround her with beer and barbecue.Also, I think it's Yamila in this brief shot from this Nike commercial:Happy 36th.

Backwards & Forwards

It's 11/02/2011. The date is a palindrome. Let's pay tribute to our palindromic models.

Elle.
Ana.
Ana.
Hannah.
And let's round it out with a few mirror images.
Yamila.
Anne.
Irina.
Mallory.
Jessica.
Alyssa.
Kenza.
And as long as we have them around:
Yvonne and Yvette.

One-Piece Wednesday: Yamila Diaz, 2001

White Swimsuit Week, 2011: Part Seven

The ultimate White Swimsuit Party was held for the 2006 cover.The ladies look great individually too (as evidenced by the hard-hitting journalism covering the shoot). So let’s enjoy them in chronological order of their first cover appearances.



Elle.

Rachel.

Daniela.

Rebecca.

Elsa.

Yamila.

Veronica.

Carolyn.

Your 2011 Rookies

The Rookie Class of 2011 has been announced. Let’s take a look at where each of them fits in the swimsuit model spectrum.

Kate UptonShe’s the most classic-looking, all-American, SI-type swimsuit model of the bunch. I see her as today’s Tori Praver.• • •Alyssa MillerThose are some major-league eyebrows. I see her as Yasmeen Ghauri’s face with Yamila Diaz’s lips.• • •Shannan ClickLooks to me like a combination of Molly Sims and Carolyn Murphy.• • •Kenza FouratiThis Tunisian model is highly unusual for SI. Most of the photos I found of her online show her in moody black & white fashion shots. It took me a while to think of an equivalent, but I think her look has the Frenchy, art-house ennui of a Laetitia Casta.• • •Izabel GoulartI figured that Daniella Sarahyba would not be in the 2011 issue. So they needed another 26-year-old Brazilian model to step up, and they found Izabel. If Daniella smiled less, they’d look even more similar.• • •The folks at Lowdown Blog place their bets on 2011's cover girl, and they put Julie Henderson at #3, after Anne V and Irina Shayk. (They also refer to the 2011 issue as the 49th. Meanwhile, the guys at Bro Bible seem to think it’s the 38th. Guys—it’s the 47th.)

9/22/11 ETA: Holy cow, it's the 48th. What's my problem? Math is hard.

Handicapping the 2011 Cover Girl Candidates, Part Three

2010: No Sleep Till BrooklynI’m really starting to like Brooklyn Decker.

She’s a magnificent curvy blonde. She’s got a distinctly all-American look and attitude to her pictures. She also seems like a smart, nice, well spoken, funny person. (Check out her Twitter feed—she seems to have something going on besides her rockin’ body.)

And it is a rockin’ body, make no mistake. I like this cover quite a bit. It might be a classic. I love the colors, I love the straight-on smiley-ness of it. Brooklyn was quoted in one of the preview videos from 2010, “We’re kind of channeling, like I said, that whole 70s, 80s sort of really happy, sunny feeling. And it’s very different for SI, you know, usually it’s very full-on sexy, and this year it’s a lot more subtle, and I think that’s really nice.” (Said the girl in the topless bikini on the cover.)

Is she speaking from experience of the 70s and 80s?

She is not. Brooklyn was born in April of 1987.

You know what else I love? Her hips. Brooklyn has magnificent hips. Especially when they’re photographed head-on like this. Shall we indulge in a gallery of Brooklyn Decker’s hips?
There’s a wonderful flat expanse between those hips. This is a curvy blonde.

2010 is Brooklyn’s fifth year in the magazine, and I have to admit, she took a while to grow on me. In her early pictures, I found her face a little pinched, a little petulant.


2006


2007


2008
But she’s developed nicely, and I think she’s stunning.

She was becoming something of a household name, partly from being Andy Roddick’s bride, but also with plenty of star power of her own. It may have been my brilliant insight, or it may just have been SI’s blatant positioning of her, but I had a feeling they were banking on her. She was a pretty easy pick for the cover. Much more warmth and approachability than either of her predecessors, Bar or Marisa.

If I have a complaint about the cover, it’s that there’s not enough swimsuit in it. Her top is visible, but draped over her shoulder like an afterthought.* Her bottom is partially submerged. There aren’t many square inches in a bikini to begin with, and that is cut down further for this cover.

Like I said, I like this cover. But what other 2010 Brooklyn shots might have done well?

Beautiful, sunshiny, and cleavage to spare, Could use more smile.

Another excellent candidate. I definitely get a sugary sunshine, Captain and Tennille vibe. Good hip action as well, though the hips are always emphasized more when the legs are together.

This would have been unique, in that it’s subdued, almost candid. The harsh angle of the light would make it a very interesting choice. And those million-dollar hips!

Soon I’ll register my prediction for the 2011 cover girl. There’s no real rush, but the sooner I set it in writing, the more of a fool I will look like come February.

*TRIVIA: Did you know that there have only been only 5 topless covers, and they were all since the year 2000? Daniela Pestova (2000), Veronica Varekova (2004), All-Star Cover Models (2006), Marisa Miller (2008), and Brooklyn in 2010. Meaning Daniela and Veronica have done it twice. Thank you, ladies.