BONUS NUMBER 73: COLT CLASSIC?
(Did You Sleep With the Models?)
Connoisseurs of the Colt Model Look — a definite style that photographer Jim French invented and that endured until he sold the studio in 2003 — will perhaps detect something slightly off in the star of this layout. Whatever this man’s attractions, he’s a few shades less creamily perfect than the typical Colt specimen. The muscles don’t hit you in the face, shadows threaten to engulf him, his eyes might almost be called “shifty,” you wonder about his attractions invisible to the camera.
On the other hand, our magazines tried to balance the beautiful-man look with models who appeared more everyday available. Conventional wisdom suggested that readers could not bear too much unreality. Greek gods work well in dreams, but many men prefer more reachable fantasies.
