Doing Jackson Justice

The Movie: “Poetic Justice”

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The Setup: Director John Singleton’s take on young love and Angst in South-Central L.A. focuses on Justice (Janet Jackson, pictured), a poetry-writing beautician, and Lucky (Tupac Shakur), a mailman/rapper.

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The Costume Designer: Darryle Johnson, whose previous film work includes Singleton’s “Boyz N the Hood.”

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The Look: In her motion-picture debut, the multimillionaire pop diva is more Crenshaw Mall than Rodeo Drive. And you can’t take your eyes off her: loose stovepipe jeans, Army surplus combat boots and tight-fitting crop top. Shedding the pop-star designer duds (and big hair) for the sweet girl-next-door look, hip-hop mode, really becomes her. Jackson removed her makeup and put on 10 pounds to look even sweeter, says Johnson.

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Trivia: The Atlantis baseball jersey Jackson wears hails not from some mythical team, but from a former Malibu coffeehouse, now a boutique, of the same name.

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Hair Watch: Not only does Justice/Jackson wear African-inspired “dookie braids,” long, thick plaits--about 100 in all--made with acrylic extensions, but Justice creates the labor-intensive hairdo for her clients in the movie. Justice also points out that a hat comes in handy on bad hair days. Her hat of choice is an oversized newsboy cap.

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Nail Watch: You can get a little dizzy from watching all the Flo Jo nails--those long claws with painted patterns and stripes immortalized by track star Florence Griffith-Joyner in the ‘80s. And you probably thought they were out . Hardly, says Johnson, who assures that they’re still very much happening in South-Central. Justice gal-pal Iesha (Regina King) and salon owner Jessie (Tyra Ferrell) both wear them.

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Miss: Beyond Jackson, the characters are mostly dressed in retreads of inner-city styles that have been around for years, like Lucky’s hooded sweat shirts and baggy jeans.

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Sources: Jackson wears Big Star jeans, and her crop top is a reconstructed Romeo Gigli. The newsboy cap is from Drea Kadilak on La Brea.