Costume Crush: Can a Song Save Your Life?

I've been a movie buff since I was a little girl, and one of my favorite parts about any movie is the costume design. Period pieces always offer up the best costume porn, and fashion-y movies are fun even though by the end you're like "Enough already - I want jeans and tees!", but my favorite costumes are the ones that can take perfectly normal clothes and style them in a way that lets you know exactly who that character is. I'm seeing a lot to like in these images from a movie called Can a Song Save Your Life?, which stars Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo and is due in theaters in 2013.



That is a great red dress. You could wear that shirtdress on a hot summer day in any city in the world and look perfectly pulled-together. I'll take the car too, please.



According to imdb.com, this movie tells the story of a dejected music business executive who forms a bond with a young singer-songwriter new to Manhattan after he discovers her singing in a coffee shop. I'm assuming that Ruffalo is the music executive, mainly because he's the one wearing the (adorably rumpled) suit. Knightley is the singer-songwriter, and I'm really digging the easy feminine/tomboy vibe I'm getting from her character's wardrobe. She and I could go shopping at Madewell together :)




Hailee Steinfeld is also in the movie. You'll remember her from her Oscar-nominated performance in 2010's True Grit. She looks cute and age-appropriate here (she's almost 16 irl), and I think it's always nice for teens to see how you can find your own "look" without showing lots of skin or coating yourself with glitter.



How adorable does she look here in her pencil skirt???



Keira Knightley has been in some of my favorite period movies (the green dress in the library in Atonement? SWOON), but it's so refreshing to see her in modern clothes. I'm sure it's a nice change for her too, not having to shoehorn herself into a corset every day for three months straight. If you look at the place where her dress meets her upper thigh, you can see her Spanx peeking out. I hear that most of the starlets in Hollywood wear Spanx even if they are very slim - shapewear gives you a smooth line under your clothes and can even squeeze inches off of hips and thighs. It's rumored that Beyonce will double Spanx for red carpet events.



Another red dress and I LOVE it. Simple, polished, flattering, with a romantic quality. Keira has a long narrow torso with shorter legs and fuller hips (well, full being a relative term for a movie star), and this style of dress is perfect for her figure. That's something else I do when I watch movies: if one of the actresses has a similar figure to mine, I pay attention to what looks most flattering and try to incorporate those ideas into my wardrobe. Keira is pictured here with Adam Levine of Maroon 5, who apparently plays her boyfriend at the beginning of the film. Nice beard. I guess he's sporting the... Amish Hipster look? He's got the moves like Jedediah.



This is obviously her "creative working artist" look. Cute brogues and boyfriend jeans.



Yeah, now I'm convinced that the costume design team spent some time shopping at Madewell - Keira looks like she walked right out of the catalog.



Digging this look. Very cool. Simple silk blouse, linen trousers cuffed just so, perfectly worn in leather accessories, and a messy ponytail. She's your always stylish yet low maintenance best friend.




Get it, gurl! Kiss that Ruffalo! Mark Ruffalo is such a terrific actor - I've loved him in every role I've seen him play. He was so perfect in 13 Going on 30, and he was the only thing that made Just Like Heaven watchable. I haven't seen The Kids are Alright yet, but it's on my Must Watch list.




Keira is obviously enjoying her job. "What did you do at work today?" "Oh, not much, just made out with The Incredible Hulk on a sidewalk in Manhattan." What a strange life that must be... no wonder most of them are batshit crazy.




Nice little bit of on-set cameraderie here, and I love the addition of "Creepster Neighbor Guy" in the window in the background. This movie already looks fun to watch and I like the cast a lot, so it's likely that I'll fork over $12 to see it in the theater next year.

All images from LaineyGossip.com and The Daily Mail online.