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swimsuits
May 24, 2013

30 Bombshell Babes in Modest Swimwear

By Maureen O'Connor

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Photo: Stan Malinowski/Corbis

Beach season is upon us, which means women must begin their annual agonizing over the relative appropriateness of skimpy swimwear. Can a one-piece conservative enough for the family also be hot enough for boardwalk seduction? Can sexiness be achieved in a suit that covers your corn-dog-stuffed Memorial Day belly? What can you wear to avoid starting a sex riot with that outrageously hot bod you’ve got going on?

For inspiration in the delicate art of the not-too-naked sexiness, let us study Christie Brinkley, Farrah Fawcett, Liz Taylor, Bo Derek, Sofia Vergara, Rihanna, and other bombshells babes in (relatively) modest beach attire. Because “sexy” need not be synonymous with “string bikini.”

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1 / 30 Photos
Christie Brinkley, 1977  Photo: Stan Malinowski/Corbis
Farrah Fawcett, 1979   Photo: Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Gene Tierney, 1940  Photo: Silver Screen Collection/Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
Sofia Vergara, 2011  Photo: Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage
Rachel Hunter, 1992  Photo: Isabel Snyder/Corbis
Joan Collins, 1955  Photo: Silver Screen Collection/Moviepix/Getty Images
Bo Derek, 1979   Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection
Natalie Wood, 1970  Photo: Silver Screen Collection/Moviepix/Getty Images
Vanessa Williams, 1991 
Elizabeth Taylor, 1959   Photo: Silver Screen Collection/Moviepix/Getty Images
Morgan Fairchild, 1989  Photo: Douglas Kirkland/Corbis
Veruschka, 1968  Photo: Franco Rubartelli/Corbis
Claudine Auger, 1965   Photo: Silver Screen Collection/Moviepix/Getty Images
Marilyn Monroe, mid-1950s  Photo: Everett Collection
Raquel Welch, 1977  Photo: Tony Kent/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Rita Moreno, 1955  Photo: Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
Darryl Hannah, 1993   Photo: Getty Images
Sharon Stone, 1991  Photo: Wayne Stambler/Corbis
Ava Gardner, 1943  Photo: Eric Carpenter/Moviepix/Getty Images
Cher, 1979  Photo: Douglas Kirkland/Corbis
Keira Knightley, 2007   Photo: Focus Features/Courtesy Everett Collection
Rihanna, 2012  Photo: Splash News/Ã?© www.splashnews.com
Tuesday Weld, 1963  Photo: Silver Screen Collection/Moviepix/Getty Images
Milla Jovovich, 1992  Photo: Calliope Grigorea/Corbis
Ann-Margret, 1960s  Photo: LGI Stock/Corbis
Linda Cristal, 1958  Photo: Silver Screen Collection/Moviepix/Getty Images
Mary Stavin, 1986  Photo: New World Releasing/Courtesy Everett Collection
Susan Strasberg, 1961  Photo: Mondadori/Getty Images
Eva Herzigova, 1989  Photo: Yves Forestier/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Romy Schneider, 1969   Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection
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  • gene tierney
  • sofia vergara
  • christie brinkley
  • farrah fawcett
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