This Beautiful Blue Striped Set Marquita Pring Wore in Barbados Is Giving Us Major Nautical Vibes

The SI Swimsuit model posed for the magazine four years in a row.

Marquita Pring was photographed by Ben Watts in Barbados. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

Marquita Pring made her SI Swimsuit debut in 2020, traveling to Wyoming for a fun and unique western-coded photo shoot with Ruven Afanador. She returned to the fold for a total of four consecutive features, traveling to Sacramento, Calif., in ’21 for a beautiful, feminine cottagecore photoshoot. In 2022, she proved her versatility in vibrant, preppy and sporty looks in Barbados, and last year, she stunned in a colorful, 1970s surf culture-inspired feature with Ben Watts in Puerto Rico.

We’re fondly looking back at all the cute and cool swimsuits Pring wore in various destinations and today, we’re excited to highlight this super fun nautical striped set from SAME Los Angeles, especially since the bottoms are currently on sale.

SAME The Lady Bra Navy/Cream Stripe, $125 and V High Hip Bottom Navy/Cream Stripe, $59 (samelosangeles.com)

Marquita Pring was photographed by Ben Watts in Barbados. Swimsuit by SAME Los Angeles. Earrings by Maria Tash and Pamela Love. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

This beautiful, classy navy-and-white set features a flattering underwire top including thick tie straps, paired with cheeky, high-leg V-waist bottoms. Both pieces are made from the brand’s comfortable signature four-way stretch material.

The upstate New York native landed her first major modeling gig in 2011, when she walked the runway for Jean-Paul Gaultier’s Paris Fashion Week Show. The same year, Pring posed for the cover of Vogue Italia alongside fellow plus-size industry stars Candice Huffine, Robyn Lawley and Tara Lynn.

“I felt the most insecure in childhood, especially with the teenage years of just feeling very awkward in my body, not having anybody to relate to [and] really looking so different from all of my friends—not just skin color, but size wise,” she shared about her relationship with beauty and her body. “I think my journey into self-acceptance and body acceptance definitely happened when I started modeling. Growing up, I never had anyone to relate to, even in magazines or ads. The plus-size revolution did not exist like it does now. It didn’t even exist, really. So once I started modeling and learned from the very start that I didn’t have to be skinny, that’s when I started accepting and stepping into myself. Seeing other women that looked similar to me, that was huge for me throughout my entire career.”

Marquita Pring was photographed by Ben Watts in Barbados. Swimsuit by SAME Los Angeles. Earrings by Maria Tash and Pamela Love. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

Today, Pring uses her platform to encourage women to step into their power and find beauty in what makes them different than everyone else. She‘s proud to serve as representation for women of color in the plus-sized industry.