Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, 2012 vs. 1964

jill — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 03:35:32 +0000

Long before the Victoria’s Secret catalog and fashion show started making hot models into household names, Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue was where curvy bombshells hit it big. The Swimsuit Issue still has clout, but its content is more flesh show for men than female fashion attraction like VS (if you consider feathery wings and bejeweled bras fashion). It’s interesting that SI continues to show hourglass figures (what men want?) and VS features predominately bean poles with boobs (what women aspire to look like?).

Some things have changed at SI, though. Compare the first two covers (1964 – 65) to the last two and the trends are clear:

Sports Illustrated's Debut Swimsuit Issue – 1964

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue – 2012

1. Bigger Busts

And “bigger” is an understatement; more like gargantuan vs. the refreshingly normal non-gravity-defying pairs from the 60s.

2. Skimpier Swimwear

One millimeter less of material and 2012′s Kate Upton would be posing for Playboy. Same with 2011′s Irina Shayk.

3. Ultra-Toned Bodes

Whether it’s airbrushing or gym sessions/juice diets, modern models never have spongey bellies or bulging thighs as their predecessors sometimes did. What a relief it would be to have our daughters emulating SI’s 1965 covergirl (not counting the heinous bathing suit!).

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue – 1965

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue – 2011

The one model this year who comes closest to a normal body size is SI rookie Crystal Renn. The former plus-size model (read about her here) is a self-proclaimed size 8. Bravo, SI, for booking Renn.

Crystal Renn, Sports Illustrated 2012

And it is nice that readers can get acquainted with more than just every inch of these girls’ bodies (with many of them still teenagers, “girls” applies). SI shares that Jessica Perez has a psychology degree from Hunter College, Kirby Griffin (GORGEOUS!) was scouted in South Beach during her University of Wisconsin spring break, and Michelle Vawer (who swam 8.8 miles across the Auau Channel in her home state of Hawaii) was recruited to swim for Yale but chose to model instead.

We also can watch video footage of the shoots and interviews with the models on the SI website. Guys must be thrilled that most of the models remove their bikini tops in the videos. I always wonder how the parents feel about their daughters’ SI exposure. Nina Agdal, from Denmark, claims, “My mom and dad are going to be really excited to see the magazine!”

Check out Kate Upton here and see what she says about landing the cover :

Modeling Mentor Blog » Kirby Griffin

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, 2012 vs. 1964