Carmen Kass has the dumbest look in the trade. Everybody speaks about her legs (that are great), a lot mention her eyes (beautiful), her breasts (magnificent) or even her personality (benefice of the doubt).

But the truth is elsewhere. Every man who has ever seen her in a magazine knows perfectly well her real asset is unmentionable - she looks stupid, and to most men, it's a great aphrodisiaque. As Anita Loos wrote half a century ago in her famous best-seller, "Gentlemen don't prefer blondes, we just look dumber".

You can check this in her latest appearance, a long editorial feature in the December issue of Vogue US. The photographer is Steven Meisel, and the subject is something complicate about moving from Palm Beach to Saint-Barth without faux pas. Any excuse is perfect to show girls in bikini in december, as Conde Nast folks know perfectly well.

So in the pic above (the full frame, big scan is here), Carmen has her famous, trademark dumb look.

Now, watch the difference sunglasses can make: In this pic, she looks deadly intelligent.

Another trick photographers use a lot with Carmen Kass is let her smile a bit, big Vogue no-no, because her eyes look narrower. But Meisel has the perfect solution - the shadow-from-her-hat trick.

Admit it, she looks stunning, although personally, I prefer this version, in which she is really cute.

But of course, maybe you prefer her with her usual blank look. She looks here like one of those naive girls in country fairs, just tell her you're into astrology and she'll follow you into your bed. You can have a laugh about her afterwards with your friends at the pub. Except of course you can't: the joke is on you.