Keira Knightley says her 'Begin Again' character dresses for women, not men

NEW YORK, June 26 (UPI) -- British actress Keira Knightley says the cotton print dresses and ripped slouchy jeans her singer-songwriter character wears in the film, Begin Again, are meant to appeal to women, not men.

"We actually had big discussions with Arjun Bhasin, the costume designer, about how I wanted her to look," Knightley said at a press conference in New York Thursday. "I wanted her to dress for women and not for men. I wanted the clothes to be something that women would like and get, and men wouldn't necessarily. So, we worked quite hard on that kind of idea. So, that kind of slightly tom-boy, slightly 'Annie Hall,' absolutely not sexualized kind of thing was what we were going for. The high, kind of slightly man's trouser thing was a big one."

In the movie, Knightley plays Gretta, a young woman who moves to New York with her musician boyfriend, played by Adam Levine, who leaves her the moment he gets his big break. Mark Ruffalo plays the once-great record producer who recognizes Gretta's talent and James Corden plays her best friend, another musician who helps her realize her potential. Once filmmaker John Carney wrote and directed Begin Again, which opens in select theaters Friday.