Playboy Models From Miss March 1954 To Miss January 1979, Then And Now [PHOTOS]

In a recent issue of New York magazine, Playboy models of decades past — from March 1954 to January 1979 — posed for a photo shoot in lingerie, sharing their experiences and lifestyles after modeling.

Issue 4 of Playboy, published in March 1954, featured Dolores Del Monte, an aspiring actress from Spokane, Washington, who agreed to do some "figure modeling" for a calendar. She was in relatively exclusive company, having followed Marilyn Monroe's debut centerfold by only a few months, but Del Monte, who got married and had three children not long after her nude pictures were taken, didn't realize they had ended up in Playboy.

Years later, her college-age son happened to be perusing a 25th-anniversary retrospective issue of the magazine, featuring thumbnails of all the centerfolds to date. He called up and said, "Mom, I've got some news about your past."

Her reaction was equal parts embarrassment and pride.

Things are different these days. Playmates of the past, in retrospect, seem awfully innocent. Del Monte now says she'd never model today: "They show too much."

In 1972, Playboy published its first full-frontal nudity, a shot of centerfold Marilyn Cole Lownes. But to Cole Lownes — and other Playmates of that era — the photographs didn't feel like they were about getting men off so much as they were about celebrating women.

All the women in the pages of Playboy who went on to become journalists, entre­­­preneurs and real-estate agents, got married, divorced and, in one case, gave birth to a Victoria's Secret supermodel, say the "Playmate" title gave them a sense of confidence.

"I think everyone who walked in that door to be a bunny girl or Playmate knew what they had," says Cole Lownes. "They may not want to admit it, but I think they knew [their power]."

Today, the nude selfie lets every woman remove the middle­­men of photographer and magazine. She can capture herself in a photo to be kept for her own eyes, or to be sent to someone she wants to see it. She has complete control.

Except, of course, for when hackers break into the Cloud and leak her nude photos all over the Internet or the text she sends to one person gets forwarded on to others who weren't meant to see it.

Still, for the women of Playboy who decided to step back in front of a photographer's lens for New York magazine, that sense of control was a large part of the appeal of posing, both then and now. According to Playboy's official style guide, there is no such thing as a former Playmate. Once earned, the title of "sex symbol," according to Hugh Hefner, is one a woman retains for life.

"When you look at pictures of yourself from long ago, you see this young girl," Cole Lownes says of her own ­centerfold. "You look into the eyes of the model, and you realize she doesn't know what she knows now."

This article appears in the Oct. 20 issue of New York. Click here to see photos.