Allison Williams covers the November issue of Bazaar, sort of. Okay, not really. Allison has guest edited the accompanying issue of harper by Harper’s Bazaar. She’s promoting the fifth season of Girls in a fashion-y way, rather than the way Lena Dunham is doing (by dancing clumsily in a teaser clip). Allison is so beautiful but kind of bland. I did enjoy her recent reveal of her Oscar de la Renta wedding dress, but then she gave an interview about how her only real criteria for the dress was that it have long sleeves. Why? Because she gets cold very easily. Hmm.
The shoot is pretty gorgeous in an overly airbrushed, spray-tanned sort of way. Allison has chiseled cheekbones and (presumably) defined abs on her own, but they went overboard to define them in the post-production process. The effect is very 1990s, Bally’s Gym. In this interview, Allison discusses her style icons and her tips for exercise wear.
Her sense of style: “When it comes to my style icons, I’ve always had a thing for the K’s: Keaton. Kelly. Kruger. Kate. Katharine. They all represent sophisticated fashion that’s also full of life. After all, clothes are fun – it’s dress-up for adults. I’d like to call my style easy, timeless, and rustic preppy (if that’s a thing), which most often translates as endless button-downs, a chic pair of boots, a good variety of sweaters, and my staple – jeans.”
Tips for exercise wear: “This is my gift to you: Spanx makes the most incredible exercise spandex. I wear them almost every day. They have a little control top, so they’re flattering. I’ll often stay in exercise clothes all day, which I know is a faux pas.”
She cannot cook: “I am the world’s worst cook. Not only am I bad at it, but I also have some kind of inability to learn. When I cook, the salad is done first and is soggy by the time you eat, the pasta is al dente, but not in a good way. And I’m perpetually worried that the meat is going to poison everyone, so it ends up being black. It’s a nightmare, so I just order in.”
[From Harper’s Bazaar]
Well, staying in gym clothes most of the day is something I have in common with Allison, but that’s probably where the similarities end. She’s harmless, a little bit vanilla, but she means well and is certainly not as annoying or attention seeking as Lena Dunham. There’s only room for one Lena on that show, and I’m talking about attitude. Allison seems to go with the flow. She’s pretty chill, and maybe she can’t cook, but hey, no one is perfect.
Photos courtesy of Mark Abrahams and Harper by Harper’s Bazaar
Well, I prefer this story (not knowing how to cook) to the common one of the skinny girl who bakes buttery and lard-filled goods for her friends in a sort of weird mix of vicarious eating and sabotage.
She’s too boring to deserve this level of fame. Lena over … Literally forget her name. Lena over Alison any day!
I watched the teaser in which Lena is dancing, and I never noticed before – but she is really nicely built. She has a haourglass figure, minus the boobs. She would look great if she dressed better.
Allison is nice, yes, a bit vanilla, but nice. And I don’t find her that pretty to be honest.
Just watched it then scrolled down to the comments.. HORRIFYING
Lena doesn’t seem capable of making art/entertainment that’s not all about her. What the hell will she do when Girls finishes? Make a thirties version?
Hahahaha fantastic question! I would love to know what kind of gig she could get after Girls wraps.
She’ll direct like I believe she did before Girls… Tiny Furniture or something was the film I saw. Terrible, very similar to Girls.
So generic looking. Like an Abercrombie model. Meets all the criteria of beauty but somehow boring.
She has a very mannish face.
I was going to say… kind of on the androgynous side. Pretty, but yeah. I think she looks more feminine in live action that she does in photographs. I do love that she has Resting Happy Face when she talks.
You need to look up pics of her hubby. They could be siblings. She used to look cute pre-serious weight loss. Her chin is too prominent now. And looking at her arms gives me goosebumps. But no, it was all just “college weight.”
Really – wearing Spanx to work out in? I prefer looser fitting clothes when working out.
Maybe she sweats a lot. I sweat a lot (a lot!) and learned that if I wore fitted clothes when exercising, I stay more comfortable. Baggy clothes start sticking and chafing when my skin starts getting damp, clothes that fit to my body bend and move with me whether I’m stretching or creating a sweat puddle. It sounds kind of icky when I put it that way. Anyway, I don’t trot around in anything sexy or revealing. I wear bright colors, avoid panty lines, and choose longer tops.
I swear a lot also. Tighter clothes is one thing but Spanx – maybe too tight.
I think she means the Spanx activewear line of which I am a HUGE fan.
Okay, thank you for that. I was trying to wrap my head around why someone as thin as Allison even OWNS any Spanx.
I think she’s beautiful. Healthy and natural looking. Don’t find her boring at all.
I’m with you. I think criticism of her looks/persona is somehow rooted in criticism of her background, sort of like Goop.
That, and the fact that she plays the single most annoying female character of all time. I mean truly the WORST character ever created—and she plays the character very, very well.
What I’m trying to say is that those of us who only know her from Girls might have trouble separating Alison from Marnie, as unfair as that may be…
Anyway, if I’m being honest I don’t find her particularly beautiful although I do agree that she is very natural-looking which is always refreshing. Also, Spanx workout gear sounds like a nightmare to me but what do I know?
Her character isn’t that annoying as you’re making it out to be. She’s not any worst than the other ones on the show. The worst of them all would be Adam, just a despicable character (imo).
@Kitten I actually like Marnie.. i think her character is realistic, though she may be annoying I think it depends on who yourself finds annoying. I have a few friends who are very similar to Allisons character.
I don’t watch Girls so I don’t have that lens with which to view her. I will check the show out one of these days. Maybe she’ll annoy the crap out of me, too! 🙂
@Nik-Nope. She really is that bad.
Conversely, Adam is one of the best characters on the show–complex, sweet and vulnerable at times, loyal, and yes, a bit eccentric. Also, Adam Driver is by FAR the best actor on the show, which is why he’s been solidly working in films the past 4 years unlike most of the other actors on the show.
I’m still waiting for someone to tell me what Marnie’s great qualities are. She’s uptight, self-centered, fussy, egotistical, unfocused, superficial, neurotic, insecure yet incredibly self-deluded at the same time. Seriously, where is the good?
I don’t think anyone finds Gwyneth boring though. People find her uber-annoying. Gwyneth brings a weird form of entertainment to the table with her annoyingness. Any comment she makes brings in the opinions, whereas Alison Williams…I think most people shrug when she appears on a magazine cover. I am impressed with her cheekbones though.
@Kitten – YES! So many cringeworthy situations Marnie gets in bc she thinks so highly of her self. Prime examples:
1. (Season 1?) When she tracks down her bf who started a tech company and assumes he’d be begging to get back together with her, bc he was the more heartbroken one. And then he shuts. her. down.
2. When she played the music video of herself singing and thought it was great and all the people at the party were making fun of her.
3. (season 4) When Marnie thinks her duet partner should be her romantic partner even though he has a gf. Classic case of “he belongs with me, not her. I understand him better.”
She is a classic narcissist and terrible friend. Also makes terrible decisions in her romantic life. All that being said, the I think the other girls are just as bad. Hannah might actually be the worst.
Control top? What is she trying to control? Girl’s stomach is on point! Any top would be flattering on that.
She’s not a good actress. Remember children, NEPOTISM> talent.
My take is that she’s a fine actress, but it’s her dad, wealth and famous connections that got her to where she is. Actresses like her a dime a dozen really, but in that biz your pedigree helps you cut through the clutter. See: Kate Hudson, Dakota Johnson, Meryl Streep’s daughters, etc.
I used to be exactly like her in the kitchen to a T. And because of these calamities you begin to develop anxiety each time you try again for guests or a boyfriend or whatever, which is few and far between, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy each time. My salads were exactly like hers. And cooking anything with chicken freaked me out , so I overcooked all the time. The stories I could tell with some of my disasters. LOL
So back then I just began working on recipes I cooked over and over until I felt comfortable and learned to stick to those for guests, and once I mastered a few, the anxiety began to lessen as I ventured on to more recipes.
I’m so proud of you! Cooking is one of the great pleasures of my life, and I get so upset when people say they can’t cook. It just takes practice, like anything else. Good for you for sticking with it.
Yes I too am terrified of cooking for other people, both my sisters learnt well from my mom but I had to kind of apply all i had seen them do in the kitchen when i went studying abroad for three years, and mostly now that i live alone.
Im not yet comfortable having other people eating my food so, good thing I’m single, but I think I’m really getting better at it. But I don’t really follow recipes, I kind of go with the flow and it usually turns out pretty nice and yummy.
For me.
Ahhh gosh the anxiety haha.
Need to practice more, like you say GNAT 🙂
You can do it! And I think you have natural talent if you don’t even need a recipe. Just get comfortable with something, then change it up a little. The best part is you get to eat it!
I assume she means the exercise line that spanx makes. I wear compression workout clothes for running on the treadmill. It keeps things from jiggling and gives some support to your muscles. Maybe it is a psychological thing but it makes me feel better about my body too. I feel more fit in them.
I like Allison on Girls, though sometimes her character annoys me. That is the only thing I have ever seen her act in.
Well, that makes sense, I suppose. I was thinking it was sort of crazy, especially with her beautiful figure, to wear Spanx to your workout, but whatever makes you feel good might help your motivation. I don’t wear Spanx unless my outfit demands it, but I can see what you mean.
I heard a radio story not long ago about a study on compression garments and the study showed they do provide a big psychological boost to many people. No physical/physiological benefits compared to regular workout clothes, though.
Interesting. I love my leggings and ripped a hole in one on an epic face plant. I’m still gonna wear them but I’m pretty miffed about ripping them like that 😢
What is it that you like about Marnie? I’m truly curious because I could not find one single redeeming quality about her.
Character wise, she is good at taking chances with her career. She puts herself out there. That’s about it though. Her relationships with men are pretty misguided for the most part. I am strictly referring to Marnie here.
at first it was the men who were proud to not be able to do basic household tasks and bragged about it in public now its more and more women…seriously cooking is a very basic skill and everybody needs to eat, so you better f*cking learn it.
In what universe is this bragging? And yes, everyone does need to eat. Luckily, you can pay people to make food for you. Cooking delicious food is not a basic skill, so if you have the money like she does, why not order?
I agree with this to an extent. When you think about it, what can these celebs do? They barely finish highschool (for some deluded dream they are going to be stars) and don’t bother to educate themselves beyond ‘acting’ skills, they barely muster up the motivation to exercise (let’s pay some PT to make you look skinny really quickly – not healthy or strong), they don’t have many deep opinions unless it benefits them directly and most of them, like Williams, can’t even feed themselves. That’s a sad state of affairs. And let’s not pretend they are SO busy they can’t cook. Filming for TV and film can be brutal with the long hours but actual filming is only a few hours out of a 12-hour day and most sit around while lights are being adjusted etc. Plenty of time to learn anything, something.
Most of them pretend they’re in control of their careers when it’s really their youth that is their most marketable feature, not their talent or skill so there is no excuse to improve on yourself. Unless you’re friggin’ Angelina Jolie who actually does have a fuller than full life.
Average people at least have some semblance of an identity and independence. They don’t need help round the clock for the most basic of things and still achieve great things. So while many can’t cook, they do have life and transferable skills that help them hold down a job and take care of themselves and their families.
It’s not about money, it’s about your mindset (see her ‘inability to learn’). She is not unable, she is UNWILLING because…money. Many poor people could/have to cook up a great healthy dish to provide proper nutrition and (I’m assuming) Williams gets served a nice piece of boiled chicken with 2 pieces of steamed veg to maintain her figure so Hollywood can keep on hiring her.
Artemis, some people don’t like to cook though. Maybe she’s unwilling to get good at cooking because she simply doesn’t enjoy it. I’m not convinced her career/skill set have anything to do with it. I hate cooking, too. Love food, hate cooking. If I had money I’d order in every day. I don’t get why people give a shit about whether strangers cook or not.
I went off in a bit of a tangent I think 🙂
Sometimes I just like to hear a celeb say what they can do (besides acting, singing etc). And not necessarily cooking of course.
Artemis, I have to disagree with you in some respects. Not all because I do believe that not all actors have a full busy life. But I hate cooking too, and it’s because I DO have a full life and there are SO many other things I’d rather do, like work, read a book, learn a new (non-cooking) skill or do yoga. I understand that there are people who really like to cook, but this day in age, if you don’t like doing it and would rather explore other hobbies or focus on your career, then there’s nothing wrong with paying someone else to do it.
@Artemis I’m with you. It’s a basic life skill. Like budgeting, cleaning, etc. It’s not bad that you pay other people to do it…but you need to be able to learn to do it on your own. You don’t have to be a chef and make french brioche with a pot of melted nutella on the side. But jesus christ man….you should know how to make an omelette or a fried egg or you know some rice a goddamn salad and sh-t. It’s not giving into the patriarchy or being a rebel by not knowing.
But I’m on a different social class where many of the people around me could save valuable money that they CAN put towards their hobbies, LIVE their full and complete lives, AND have the ability to live much longer because they presumably would eat better food for themselves if they actually learned how to cook.
I think Allison Williams went to Yale, so she’s not one of the barely educated actresses.I assume she can’t cook well because of the social class she comes from (she’s probably never really been under pressure to cook her stuff in a way that actually tastes good). That said, when people say they can’t cook, I assume that means they can’t cook a complicated meal. Angelina Jolie said she can’t cook either, I sort of interpreted her comment to mean that she can’t cook some exquisite nicely presented meal or whatever. Cooking simple meals is a basic life skill so I can’t imagine they don’t know how to fry an egg. That would be a little weird, but who knows…
From her comments, it does seem like Alison Williams has tried cooking — it just doesn’t seem like she likes how she’s prepared her meal (she said her salad turns out soggy and her pasta is terrible), which doesn’t necessarily sound too weird to me. I can prepare something, but I usually like how my mother did something better so maybe she’s comparing her food against a certain standard.
Anytime I read about someone bragging about not being able to cook it grates (ho-ho!) on my nerves, like you say everyone needs to eat, but is also smacks of “well I am so special that I have lesser mortals to do this for me, I am occupied with more IMPORTANT things”.
End Rant.
Most people I know that say they can’t cook just mean they don’t have the confidence to cook for others. I don’t think she was bragging about it really.
I agree with both of you. I know women who say they can’t cook with an attitude of “I’m not a servant – I have more important things to do with my time” and all that and yes, it grates (hoho), but I didn’t really get that from her. I did think she thought it was sort of cute, and I don’t think it’s so cute to not be able to make a salad. And hiring someone to do it for you isn’t really practical unless you have a live in cook. I sort of want to teach her. Hint – don’t dress the salad until the dinner is done, then it won’t get soggy.
ME too, but then I have to remember that not everyone grew up in that kind of environment, where their parents cooked a lot or cooked well. That said, that’s not always an excuse: My SIL’s first word was probably “restaurant” and she’s a great cook now.
Cooking for other people is a learned skill and is actually complicated. If you don’t have to do it regularly, you don’t learn it. I cook for myself but not for other people and especially not a regular meal since I eat in installments. I just toss things together that are available and seem tasty. Not much gets officially “cooked”, everything is sort of a simple casserole. Some things never really make it into the oven because I keep picking at it, like Brussels sprouts (I like to eat them as finger food, leaf by leaf). Frozen peas and corn get depleted that way also (well, they’re tasty frozen).
Since I have to protect my food from active paws, I’m not likely to eat out of more than one plate or bowl at a time …. Have to keep one hand free for defense. Pyrex measuring cups of various sizes work well and are easy to hang on to for those of us who drop things.
Was a little baffled by her mentioning soggy salads, but salad for me is basically a meal and gets eaten as soon as there isn’t any more room for stuff in the big bowl. I like sandwich in a bowl, and will tear up good bread for it if in the mood. No attempt to keep a sandwich together needed that way and you can put loads of veggies in it. Any condiments as well.
A friend in grad school really did cook every night, but first thing he did when starting in the kitchen was set up a huge salad in a really huge bowl with all sorts of raw veggies and munch on it while he worked. Really impressed me, since my mother’s idea of a salad had been a dinky little bowl of iceberg lettuce and a sad limp slice of tomato. He was very organized. His roommates were Neanderthals, though, drove him nuts.
Meh. I’m an awesome cook but hate doing it, seriously all the natural ability I have is wasted on me. If I could I would never lift a finger in the kitchen again. Good for her I say.
I thought the teaser trailer was funny and sort of cute, especially that hannah’s mom was there dancing too! I like Girls at times, other times not so much, but I’m 38 and so I guess it’s not really for me. I’m jealous of Lena and the comfort she feels with her body. I wish I had some of her nerve!
Allison seems fine. Her character in Girls is painful to watch sometimes
The teaser made me smile. I appreciate Lena’s body confidence, too. I doubt she’d wear spanx to workout. 👍
In a sea of annoying characters, I find her Girls character the absolute worst.
I skip through her scenes sometimes because her character is just… I can’t.
When it comes to my style icons, I’ve always had a thing for the K’s: Keaton. Kelly. Kruger. Kate. Katharine. — No doubt she sat around for the better part of the day trying to come up with this line so she could casually drop it in the interview. RME. Cannot act, no talent, waste of space father. Go away.
“No doubt she sat around for the better part of the day trying to come up with this line so she could casually drop it in the interview.” HAHAH!! I thought it came across super try-hard too.
Classic Type-A with an eating disorder
Yup. Those who started watching Girls in Season 1 surely noticed the significant weight-drop between Season 1 and 2. It was so apparent that they had to somehow make it part of the plot, so it was mentioned in Episode 2.1 (with Marnie going through a harsh break-up and her mother, played by Rita Wilson, addressing her skinny figure over lunch).
Her weight loss didn’t look healthy to me. She has no muscular tone, and that is the most fake 6-pack I’ve ever seen. I have no doubts she has a flat stomach now but that definition is not hard to render in pictures, if you stick out your abdomen and assume a particular position .
It makes me sad that she felt she had to lose so much weight. She looked gorgeous before. Actually, that is maybe the only good thing “girls” brought to the table – that these women were young and not one had a 6 pack or whatever.
She is so beautiful. I honestly just watch Girls to see her.
I like her in Peter Pan, I never watch Girls.
She’s 27?! I thought 35 at least from these pics. I’m 30 but feel like I look like an 18 year old compared to “celebrities” in my age range.
Why do skinny girls wear spanx? It’s like all women have become brainwashed that they need to wear them even when they don’t. I guess it can give you a seamless figure but so can a lot of other under garments that are less restrictive.
Overrated to the max. If not for her Daddy, (if he’s really her dad, cause lies); she would be another average female shopping at Ralph’s. And, why the need for Spanx? Stupid.
Her abs are SICK. I would have expected her to just have a flat yoga stomach. Unless it’s all photoshop, those are some, like 2003 Britney-level abs.