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Concept
Zoot suit
Summary
A zoot suit (occasionally spelled zuit suit) is a men's suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. It is most notable for its use as a cultural symbol among the Hepcat and Pachuco subcultures, although it originated among African Americans and was later popular with Mexican, Filipino, Italian, and Japanese Americans in the 1940s.
The zoot suit originated in an African American comedy show in the 1930s and was popularized by jazz and jump blues singers. Cab Calloway called them "totally and truly American". The suits were worn mainly by men of color, including a young Malcolm X. During the rationing of World War II, they were criticized as a wasteful use of cloth, wool being rationed then. In 1942, the War Production Board issued restrictions aimed at stopping the sale of zoot suits.
Predominately Mexican and Black zoot suiters became victims of racial mob violence in the 1943 Zoot Suit Riots. Shortly after, wearing of the zoot suit was indefinitely banned in Los Angeles via a city wide ordinance. The zoot suit become an important symbol of cultural pride in the Chicano Movement. It experienced a brief resurgence in the swing revival scene in the 1990s. The suit is still worn by Chicanos for memorialization events and special occasions.
Hipster (1940s subculture)
The suits were first associated with African-Americans in communities such as Harlem, Chicago, and Detroit in the 1930s, but were made popular nationwide by Jazz and Jump Blues musicians in the 1940s. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word "zoot" probably comes from a reduplication of suit. The creation of the zoot suit have been variously attributed to Harold C. Fox, a Chicago clothier and big-band trumpeter; Charles Klein and Vito Bagnato of New York City; Louis Lettes, a Memphis tailor; and Nathan (Toddy) Elkus, a Detroit retailer.
"A Zoot Suit (For My Sunday Gal)" was a 1942 song written by L. Wolfe Gilbert and Bob O'Brien.
Official source
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