A look back at SI swimsuit issue's humble beginnings

Alex Cayley photo
Ariel Meredith was photographed for Sports Illustrated 2013 Swimsuit Issue's online edition, in Seville, Spain, in a swimsuit by Sarah Bolz of Maui's Kai ulu Swimwear.

In today's paper, I wrote a brief story about Maui-based Letarte Swimwear's history with the Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue, going back 13 years.

Another Hawaii company that made it into the issue was Maui Girl, and the online version also featured swimsuits from another Maui-based company, Kai ulu Swimwear.

The annual issue has grown into a $1 billion enterprise according to Business Insider, but the issue had humble roots.

Our sports editor, Paul Arnett, happened to have purchased the original 1964 Swimsuit Issue for $10 in the 1990s. (Original price: .25 cents). I saw one site listing its value today as $175, though of course that's dependent on availability and one's desire to own it.

It's pretty rare that a sports and fashion writer have a meeting of minds. Most times, he's making fun of me because I never know the names of the Superbowl teams, except when I can't help but pick it up through osmosis. Generally, I try to avoid all talk of football and pretend to know nothing of the game, though I went to every game of my high school alma mater, and followed the UH team when I was there, as well.

I was much more enthusiastic when he brought in the original swimsuit issue. Sports Illustrated was born in 1954, and the "Swimsuit Issue" started 10 years later, on Jan. 20, 1964. It was really just a six-page fashion spread, with a few water-oriented stories on snorkel and dive spots, but the cover—of Babette March in a white bikini—was definitely not your typical Sports Illustrated cover.

The look was also more girl next door, vs. the bombshell look look of today's models. It was all quite tame and wholesome.

According to Business Insider, the supplement was started by then-editor Andre Laguerre to increase readership during the winter lull between popular sports seasons. With a hit on their hands, Jule Campbell was chosen as SI's first swimsuit editor, taking the helm from 1965 to 1996.

Since becoming a stand-alone issue in 1997, the magazine has become "one of Time Inc.’s biggest revenue drivers over the years, bringing in more than $1 billion," according to Forbes.

The empire encompasses online editions, videos, calendars, and a swimwear website, SwimDaily.com

In contrast to the original swimsuit spread, which fits in its entirety here: (The magazine is now in ab archival cover, and I don't think Paul would let me handle it again.)

Living in a virtual world ... byebye material girls

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As part of New York Fashion Week, SiriusXM hosted "Town Hall with Kenneth Cole,” with SiriusXM Fashion Insiders host Fern Mallis, who was instrumental in starting NYFW, interviewing Cole about his return to the runway and the importance of social media.

The most interesting part of the brief interview was when he said, “What’s interesting now is that we don’t consume the product by buying it in the stores. I mean, one percent do, maybe. 100 percent view it [and] consume it, by shooting it, by posting it, by pinning it, by blogging it, by tweeting it, by retweeting it, and today it is being consumed everywhere in these unique and interesting ways. And they define themselves by it … there’s Pinterest, Instagram and all of these social platforms.”

I've been doing this for at least a decade. If I can't possess an item I find beautiful, I'd save a photo of it as a reminder. Before, I would have to save the images in folders on my computer desktop, but now Pinterest makes it easy to collect photos and create storyboards. For retailers, it's a great marketing and advertising tool as the public spreads word of their love and affection for a brand.

But in the long-term, I wonder what happens to the retail business model when everyone does make consumption virtual. The economy is questionable, unemployment is still high. It's conceivable that the cash-strapped won't need to make purchases if they can enjoy items vicariously via Pinterest. It can be unexpectedly satisfying, because let's face it, even if we buy coveted items, chances are we tire of it in three months or even before the credit card bill arrives.

If so, retailers might one day find themselves in the same boat as the record, book and newspaper industry, trying to stay afloat in a world where increasingly, life is being led online.

Or maybe it really is the 1 percent that props up the industry, and it's just the 99 percent of us who have to use our imaginations. It sort of works in the way it really couldn't for food and housing.

You can view his show here:


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NYFW 2013 fall-winter previews come to a close

Here are scenes from the final official day of New York Fashion Week's fall-winter 2013 previews, as reflected on Twitter: http://storify.com/fashiontribe/nyfw-the-fall-winter-2013-finale

NYFW: Day 7 roundup

Day 7 views of New York Fashion Week, via Twitter: http://storify.com/fashiontribe/nyfw-fall-winter-2013-day-7

Valentine's Day heart braid for girls

SoCozy.com photo

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, you can dress up your little one and show the world how you feel about love with this heart braid design by children's hair expert Cozy Friedman, as featured in "Cozy’s Complete Guide to Girls' Hair."

What you’ll need: Wide-tooth comb, fine-tooth comb, decorative hair clip, ponytail holders

1. Starting with damp hair (either towel-dried or misted), use a wide-tooth comb to detangle. Then, using a fine-tooth comb, part the hair down the middle of the head. Clip one side up right above the ear.

2. On the other side of the part, use the fine comb to gather a thin section of hair from the crown. This section should measure about 2 inches from the hairline to the top of the head.

3. Divide this section into three, and begin a French braid starting at the crown and curving toward the temple, then toward the back of the head, like the top lobe of a heart. You will be lifting hair into the braid only from this side of the part. Leave no loose hair in front of the ears.

4. When you reach the center part at the back of the head, secure the braid with a ponytail holder. If hair is very long, end the braid about mid-ear; the ends will hang down the back.

5. Unclip the hair on the other side of the part and repeat the process. Secure with a ponytail holder.

6. Join the ends of the braids together in the center of head and secure with ponytail holder. Finish with a decorative clip.


There's a lot of braiding being shown on the New York runways for adults as well. Here are images from the Rodarte show:

John Frieda photos

Added Feb. 13:

From the Badgley Mischka Fall/Winter 2013 Collection preview:
Hair by Peter Gray for Moroccanoil

Photos by David Webber for Moroccanoil

NWFW Fall-Winter 2013: Day 6

Here are scenes from New York Fashion Week's Fall-Winter 2013 previews on my Storify page, as spotted on Twitter: http://storify.com/fashiontribe/nyfw-2-12-images

It's sunny backstage at Tory Burch.

Letarte scores second SI Swimsuit cover

For the second time in the 13 years Letarte Swimwear has been included in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, the Maui company has scored a cover. The brand created by Lisa Letarte Cabrinha and Michele Letarte Ross, and designed by Lisa, last made the cover in 2005. The 2013 edition of the swimsuit issue hits newsstands tomorrow, although you can view the images now at http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2013_swimsuit/

Two's also a charm for model Kate Upton, who's been the cover girl for two years in a row. Last year, she appeared on the cover in a swimsuit by Maui-based Suit Yourself Bikinis by Kathleen Bruening.

This year, she appears in Letarte's sporty mesh side tie bikini bottom, sans top, but with a fur-trimmed parka in the unlikeliest of swimsuit venues, Antarctica.

It makes sense for Letarte, considering the sisters conduct their business cross-country. While Michele skis in Vermont every weekend, Lisa is surfing the Maui waves that inspire the line.

The suit Upton is wearing is part of a surf/kite capsule. The swimsuit issue always delivers a bump in sales for the local swimwear and jewelry companies included in the fashion spreads. Pre-orders for the $180 bikini are being taken at http://letarteswimwear.com/ The matching top is a white mesh slide triangle style that ties at the neck and back.