STICKS and stones may break her bones but words will never hurt her.

So why does British actress Keira Knightley persist in showing off her emaciated figure in clingy gowns, and give the critics more to bitch about?

For years, the skeletal 23-year-old has battled anorexia rumours by insisting she's proud of her naturally thin body - even though film posters and advertising campaigns never fail to plump up the A-cup beauty in their touched-up photos.

Of late, Knightley has sparked talk again on her promotional trail for the new period biopic The Duchess, which sees her playing Georgiana Spencer, the 18th-century Duchess of Devonshire and great-great-great-great-grandaunt of Princess Diana.

Critics have branded her 'too skinny' to play the fashionably ample Duchess with an hour-glass figure, and complained about how she has been miscast for the part.

'Knightley looks woefully, painfully thin throughout... it's hard to listen to what she's saying when all you want to do is feed her chips,' the Daily Telegraph noted.

Indeed, Knightley hasn't exactly reigned on the red carpet either. Here's our ranking of her costume dramas, from worst to best...

1. Will she ever learn that grey doesn't look good on her pale complexion?

Remember how she divided fashion critics last year when she hit the Atonement red carpet in a ghostly silver full-length gown with cut-outs by Rodarte which left her looking ill and washed out?

Knightley's back in the draining hue and looks somewhat deflated as she stepped out for the gala screening at the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival.

Her strapless chiffon gown - accented with Bvlgari jewels - only served to highlight her jutting collarbones and flatten her already airport runway chest.

To top this off, she's wearing red eyeliner which makes her peepers look tired and bloodshot - another surefire way to look run down.

GAWKY

2. She got the colour right at the world premiere in London, but the cutting of the outfit and up-do hairstyle still drew attention to her frail frame.

But we have to admit Knightley looked half decent in Alexis Mabille's strapless royal blue cocktail dress with polka netting at the neck and hemlines and Chanel bling.

GAUNT

3. Okay, she comes across as a plain Jane in this schoolgirlish get-up at the Toronto International Film Festival press conference, but at least we aren't forced to look at her skin and bones.

Knightley is a gorgeous girl, but if you haven't got it, don't flaunt it.

Someone's got to tell her she looks much better keeping her flaws covered up.

This article was  first published in The New Paper on Sep 11, 2008.