Dunst's Guide To Dressing

Kirsten Dunst´s wardrobe in new film The Two Faces of January will inspire you to stock up on vintage dresses ahead of summer, but the actress - who has worn couture gowns as well as beautiful costumes in countless films and on hundreds of red carpets over the past two decades - isn't too nostalgic about clothes.

"My mum gave me this ring - it was her 16th birthday present, she wanted a bow and then her aunt put a diamond in it for her - and that's something I always wear, but I'm someone who will buy something and wear it non-stop until I'm so sick of it, so I'm not that precious about clothes," Dunst admitted. "I'm sure that one day when I get married or whatever it'll be different," she added, shaking her head at the suggestion of a Chanel Couture wedding dress one day hanging in her wardrobe, smiling: "I'll do Rodarte."

Far from buttoned-up couture, Dunst's style is as effortless as her laugh - and dresses, which solely compose her wardrobe for the film, are a particular favourite

"I like a cute, easy dress when I'm not working," she told us. "I find jeans less comfortable than dresses to be honest - because everyone wears such tight jeans these days! I like putting together a nice outfit, but mostly I like comfort. It depends on my mood."

She is, it's worth noting, braving a pair of tight black skinnies and a jumper today, her flaxen hair and signature dimples as pretty as they've been throughout her 20-year film career. Dunst's allure is generally more demure than some of her contemporaries - one couldn't imagine Scarlett Johansson or Mila Kunis, for example, playing the role of Colette MacFarland - but the carefree prettiness we viewers see often needs a little more effort.

"Sometimes you feel prettier than other times," she shrugged. "Sometimes, like last night [for the British premiere of The Two Faces of January, left], I love my hair and make-up, I love my dress, my shoes; so I'll feel pretty. But other times, I feel like, 'Urgh - I'm a little too much here,' but it's too late! I can't say, 'Can you fix my base?' 'Can you redo my hair?' It's not going to happen, so sometimes you just feel better than other times."

Feeling good in terms of her work, however, is a sensation that Dunst is very au fait with: "I think I've gotten good at choosing the people I work with." Perhaps more than any other actress of her generation, she has worked across every genre of film: from blockbusters and rom coms, to period dramas and comedies. Immediately before this critically acclaimed Patricia Highsmith adaptation, Dunst appeared in the sequel to Anchorman with Will Ferrell.

"There are so many independent films right now that you can pore your heart out in some great role and sometimes it'll blow up and it's great, but a lot of times they're maybe on direct TV, so it's hard to want to put so much effort in to something that you don't know how it will turn out," she admitted. "I wouldn't do a film that I didn't have a good reason to talk about. I think if I'm falling in love with it, then other people will, too... I would love to work with Quentin Tarantino, he's my dream director."

Kirsten Dunst

Working with accomplished screenwriter but first-time director Hossein Amini was no such risk, however, thanks to his "beautiful taste" and a few other winning factors.

"For me it was the story first," she said. "I loved the script and Viggo [Mortensen, her co-star] was attached already, and I've always wanted to work with him, so that's what drew me to be part of the film. Sometimes it's about the role for me, but most often it's about the actors I want to work with, the director and the story."

It's hard to imagine Dunst, with her eclectic CV and easy-going manner, being much of a planner, but she does have some goals in mind as she enters her third decade in film.

"Producing," she said. "I would like to have directed more in the next 10 years, for sure. And I'd like to have children, so that's in the plan, too."