Getting Cozy With A Playmate: Part 1

Spent some "quality time" with Playboy's 2009 Playmate of the Year, Ida Ljungqvist, this morning. We were both in our loungewear, and she'd just risen from bed.
Ljungqvist, 27, was so warm, open and engaging that it totally slipped my mind to ask her the obligatory question: 'What's it feel like to be the first woman of African descent to be picked as the POY?'
Never mind the fact that she was waking up and calling from Los Angeles, while yours truly was (sigh) in the Atlanta office. The question-and-answered session that ensued sure felt intimate. Ida (pronounced EE-duh) has a giggly way of putting you at ease. And in this exclusive interview with EyeSeeStyle, Ida offers guys soft assurance that their tastes in lingerie are (mostly) normal...
That's good to hear since Ida and a bunch of her Playmate pals are hosting a "sleep-over" June 12 at the W Hotel Midtown. And no one wants to be accused of oggling to obnoxiously.
ESS: So, it’s 7:15 out there in L.A. I just have to ask, ‘What are you wearing?’
Ida: Just a t-shirt. And some booty shorts.
ESS: Ahem. Have you ever visited Atlanta?
Ida: Yes. I have some friends in the music industry there. So I had the chance to pass by for a few days a few summers ago.
ESS: Has your life changed much since you gained the Playmate of the Year title?
Ida: Absolutely. My life’s changed completely. I go to the best parties. And, for some reason, all these people want to interview me and talk to me now.
ESS: What are the perks that come with being Playmate of the Year?
Ida: The parties. The really good tables in the restaurants. Traveling everywhere. Meeting different people. It’s not boring at all. I’ll put it that way. I can’t tell you how many different celebrities I’ve met through the Mansion parties.


Ida, with Playboy founder Hugh Hefner

ESS: What’s the toughest part of your new job?
Ida: It’s definitely the travel: all that time you spend in airports. But I want to do everything. They’re such great opportunities. And you never know who you might be letting down if you don’t show up some place. You don’t want to say, ‘No’, because you never know who that affects, or where it might lead. I will probably need to take a week off at some point, but not now.
ESS: Where do you hope to take your career from here?
Ida: One of the things I learned from taking the chance and posing for Playboy is that you can make a plan and things still may not seem like they’re going the way you want. So you can’t strictly go by your plan. I’ve been asked to take a couple of acting roles, but for now I’m focused on representing the company and doing appearances. I’ll definitely take a chance on acting if the right part comes along.
ESS: Would you ever star on a reality show?
Ida: You know, it’s funny you should ask. That’s the running joke with me and my girlfriends. I kinda started dating again after a long time not dating. My friends say we should do a reality show based on me dating different people and seeing who I liked. But I don’t know if I’d do it. The dating scene is touch-and-go as it is. But if I did do a reality show ever, it might be something along those lines.
ESS: Now that you’re Playmate of the Year, do men approach you differently?
Ida: Just the opposite: it’s gotten worse. It used to be that I didn’t get approached much at all. I was just working in a clothes store for women and too busy doing my own thing I guess. Now, I’m actually out there. THANK YOU, HEF! And I get to date a little more. But I simply don’t believe it’s that hard to walk up and ask for somebody’s number. What is that? Maybe I’m meeting more confident people now.
ESS: Is there a special man in your life now?
Ida: No.


The June 2009 issue of Playboy
ESS: What sort of men are you attracted to?
Ida: I have decided I would like to be with somebody who enjoys life, who’s got a positive outlook, is well-traveled and cultured. Oops, did you mean on a physical level? I’d like someone tall. Great smile. Nice looking Loves his mom. That works for me.

(Wait…WAIT! There’s more. Return to EyeSeeStyle soon for Part 2 of our exclusive interview with Playboy Playmate of the Year Ida Ljungqvist and more details about the June 12 “Pajama Party” she’s hosting at the W Hotel Midtown-Atlanta. In Cozying Up...Part 2, Ida offers men advice on shopping for lingerie and dressing for bed!)