GREEN & GLOVER: Model visitor

The Other Hilary

Ever thought you might bump into a supermodel in Glover Park? It could happen. Hilary Rhoda, the blue-eyed brunette stunner from Chevy Chase best known for being the face of cosmetics giant Estee Lauder, tells us that the restaurant Kitchen, on Wisconsin Avenue Northwest, is one of her favorite hangouts when she returns home from jet-setting.

Miss Rhoda, 22 and a graduate of the all-girls Academy of the Holy Cross in Kensington, is the cover girl for Capitol File magazine’s holiday issue, on stands now.

On her way to Washington for Monday night’s Cap File cover party at the Mayflower Hotel, she found time to e-mail us some thoughts.

“I was honored when they asked me to be on their cover,” she wrote. “It’s great to be proud of where you’re from and being on the cover has been a great experience for me and my family.”

A local girl made good she may be, but don’t expect her to volunteer too many ideas on her home turf’s favorite sport — politics.

“Being from D.C., of course, I have my opinions about politics,” she acknowledged, but she keeps them to herself, she explained, “because a lot of times those conversations can become heated!”

Speaking of politics, many women’s groups have criticized the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, which Miss Rhoda graced this year and where she is set to appear again in 2010.

“I have no regrets about it,” she told G2. “For a model, it is a major achievement and a business tactic to widen my fan base.”

Clever gal that she is, she nimbly defends the shoot on the feminists’ own terms.

“I always looked at it from an aspirational angle because of how fit and in shape the women in it were,” she explained. “I work out every day, and to have a strong body instead of something frail like in fashion magazines, that’s something to look up to. Every woman is welcome to her opinion but I think the photos came out beautifully.”

Trading Up

Congratulations are in order for Jenny Sanford. She may not be first lady of South Carolina much longer, but she has an illustrious new title to claim as her own. The Web site lousyspouse.com has named her the “lousy spouse survivor of the month.”

“Jenny Sanford chose not to stand by her philandering man. Instead, she took the steps to protect her children and herself from her husband’s further demise,” the Web site, a new online resource for wronged wives, explains in a press release accompanying the selection.

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