A Black and White Situation

THE MOVIE: “Livin’ Large!”

THE SETUP: Dexter Jackson (T. C. Carson) is the complete homeboy about town. His hair is tied up in baby dreadlocks. He’s an exuberant presser at Little Dog Dry Cleaners, where he borrows the flashy clothes of customers so he’ll look good in the videotapes he makes for his classes at the Ajax School of Broadcasting. Just as Dexter (pictured) happens onto a hostage crisis near his ‘hood, the local TV reporter is shot. Dexter picks up the mike and tells the tale in hip-hop as colorfully alive as his attire. He’s a hit and gets a TV job. In the process his image is overhauled and he’s recast in the tight, conservative mold of corporate America. With all his good fortune, he fears he’s losing his soul.

THE LOOK: Pre-TV Dexter prefers African-inspired, tie-dyed T-shirts. TV-slick Dexter gets starched shirts, ties and full-on suits, including sleek, Italian designer numbers in the style of Armani. His baby dreads are traded for a Gary Colemanesque close-cut Afro. And as Dexter fears he’s becoming whiter than Tom Brokaw, visions of a sellout metamorphosis descend: a blond James Brown-like bob, thin lips, narrow nose and pale skin, all accomplished with prosthetic makeup.

THE SOURCES: Costume designer John Dunn says his budget was so limited he “could have bought two Armani suits and everybody else would have been naked.” The tie-dyed Ts came from Harlem shops and Dexter’s TV clothes from menswear stores in Atlanta, where the film was shot. For Dexter’s girlfriend Toynelle (Lisa Arrindell), Dunn bought “fun, uninhibited” clothes from The Limited and Macy’s. For Dexter’s executive news director Kate Penndragin (Blanche Baker), Dunn used “Neiman Marcus all the way.”

THE PAYOFF: The costuming in “Livin’ Large!” testifies to cultural views on the manipulative power of style and attire. The film’s characters and plot reflect exaggerated stereotypes, but their wardrobes generally do not (save for Dexter’s final ensemble, in which, unfortunately, he looks like Buckwheat playing an African pope).