Keira Knightley: Costume or Contemporary?

White Knightley

There's a new hero in town in 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,' and her name's Swann. Elizabeth Swann. We know that her muse, Keira Knightley, is as badass as the boys when she's in pirates' duds -- but what about in her other roles? Check out Keira's evolving movie looks, from corsets to soccer uniforms.

More About Keira Knightley

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• All About 'At World's End'

So Close, So Far East

Elizabeth Swann's come a long way since high heels and petticoats, baby. In 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,' she heads to Singapore to confront Sao Feng and ends up going native, sporting some fancy new clothes to go with her fierce new 'tude. But who wouldn't feel heroic while wearing that jaunty hat?

Blushing Bride-to-Be

'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' opens on Elizabeth Swann's wedding day (before she starts cross-dressing and kicking lots of undead pirate booty), but there's nothing scandalous about the non-white dress -- colored gowns were the fashion until Queen Victoria wed in white in 1851.

The 'Domino' Effect

Keira made 'Pride & Prejudice' before playing a tough bounty hunter in 'Domino,' and to make the transition, she shed more than just the role. "I was passing a hairdresser," she told JoBlo.com, "and I thought, 'This is how I'm going to do it. I'm going to cut ['Pride' character] Lizzy Bennet out of my hair.' And I did."

Austen-tatious

'Pride & Prejudice,' in which Keira stars as Elizabeth Bennet, is set in the 1800s, when ladies' outfits weren't so constricting. "You got a sense that these girls could really run around in a field, walk for miles, do anything they wanted in their clothes," she told the BBC. Walk for miles? She says that like it's a good thing.

Game of Jacks

In 'The Jacket,' Keira plays Jackie, an alcoholic waitresss who's trying to help Gulf War veteran Jack Starks (Adrien Brody) figure out his past. More notable than what Keira wears in this film is what she doesn't wear, as the movie includes two scenes in which she's nude. And no, we don't have pictures. Don't ask.

Bow's Art

Keira studied boxing, archery and swordplay for 'King Arthur,' which interprets Guinevere as a sexy warrior rather than a damsel in distress. She told Bliss magazine, "When [guys] see me as a warrior in 'King Arthur' I'll never get a guy again -- they'll be too terrified!" Oh, Keira. So modest, so naïve, so very, very wrong.

The Girl Next Door

Keira didn't wear fancy costumes or fight bad guys as a newlywed in 'Love Actually,' but that suited her just fine. "I got married," she told the Evening Chronicle, "got to kiss a couple of really good-looking guys ... lovely costumes, lovely hair and lovely makeup, and no corsets, which was nice. It was really cool."

Scarlett Turns Blue

For the first 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movie, Keira was excited to look like Scarlett O'Hara in 'Gone With the Wind' -- until she got a reality check about what it's like to wear a corset. She told the Sun newspaper, "It gives you great cleavage and you look fantastic for about five minutes -- until you turn blue from lack of air."

Kick It

Knightley's role as the soccer-playing Jules in the indie hit 'Bend It Like Beckham' is probably more like the real Keira than any other part she's played: Knightley was captain of her school team. Not only did she get paid to play soccer for hours every day, but she also got to wear lots of midriff-bearing shirts. Everyone wins.

A Little 'Princess'

The 2001 made-for-TV movie 'Princess of Thieves' has Keira, in her first starring role, playing another legendary historical figure: Robin Hood's daughter, Gwyn. Her costume is simple, all the better to protect a prince, join the Merry Men, free her father from prison -- oh, and fall in love, too. Not bad for a 15-year-old.