zoot suit

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A soldier inspecting zoot suits in Washington D.C. in 1942

Men wearing zoot suits

A zoot suit (occasionally spelled zuit suit) is a suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. This style of clothing was popularized by African Americans, Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Italian Americans, and Filipino Americans during the late 1930s and 1940s.^[1][2][3] In England bright-colored zoot suits with velvet lapels that bore a slight resemblence to Edwardian clothing were worn by Teddy boys.

Characteristics

Al Capp's 1943 satirical drawing

A zoot suit has high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed pegged trousers (Spanish: tramas), and a long coat (Spanish: carlango) with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. Often zoot suiters wear a felt hat with a long feather (Spanish: tapa or tanda) and pointy, French-style shoes (Spanish: calcos). A young Malcolm X described the zoot suit as: "a killer-diller coat with a drape shape, reet pleats and shoulders padded like a lunatic's cell".^[4] Zoot suits usually featured a watch chain dangling from the belt to the knee or below, then back to a side pocket.

Zoot suits were for special occasions, such as a dance or a birthday party. The amount of material and tailoring required made them luxury items, so much so that the U.S. War Production Board said that they wasted materials that should be devoted to the World War II war effort.^[5] This extravagance during wartime was a factor in the Zoot Suit Riots.^[6] Wearing the oversized suit was a declaration of freedom and self-determination, even rebelliousness.^[6]

History

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word zoot probably comes from a reduplication of suit. It was probably first coined by Mexican American pachucos as part of their slang (Caló) from the Mexican Spanish pronunciation of the English word suit with the s sounded as z.

The creation and naming of the zoot suit have been variously attributed to Harold C. Fox, a Chicago clothier and big-band trumpeter;^[7] Louis Lettes, a Memphis tailor;^[8] and Nathan (Toddy) Elkus, a Detroit retailer.^[9][10]

Zoot suits first gained popularity in Harlem jazz culture in the late 1930s, where they were initially called drapes.^[11] The zoot suit became very popular among young Mexican Americans, especially pachucos in Los Angeles. Anti-Mexican youth riots in Los Angeles during World War II are known as the Zoot Suit Riots. In modern day popular culture, Zoot Suits became popular from the song, "Zoot Suit Riot", by the Cherry Poppin' Daddies.

See also

Latino and Hispanic American portal

• The Zoot Cat (animated cartoon)
• 38th street gang
• Pachuco
• Zazou

References

1. ^ "Zooting up: Brighten prom night with flash, dash—and panache"
2. ^ "The Montreal and Verdun Zoot-Suit disturbances of June 1944"
3. ^ "Zoot Suit revived at the Goodman Theatre"
4. ^ Lennard, John (2007) (e-book). Walter Mosley: "Devil in a Blue Dress". Humanities-Ebooks. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-84760-042-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=uPAtDNqe5XwC&pg=PA45&dq=%22reet+pleats+and+shoulders+padded+like+a+lunatic%27s+cell%22&ei=kn7vSdfBPJS6M_br6coF#PPA46,M1. Retrieved 2009-04-22. 
5. ^ Rottman, Gordon L. (2007). FUBAR: Soldier Slang of World War II. Oxford: Botley. p. 117. ISBN 9781846031762. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Osgerby, Bill (2008). "Understanding the 'Jackpot Market': Media, Marketing, and the Rise of the American Teenager". in Patrick L. Jamieson & Daniel Romer, eds. The Changing Portrayal of Adolescents in the Media Since 1950. New York: Oxford University Press US. pp. 31–32. ISBN 0-19-534295-X. 
7. ^ "Harold Fox, Who Took Credit For the Zoot Suit, Dies at 86". New York Times. August 1, 1996. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E0DF143FF932A3575BC0A960958260. Retrieved 2008-01-08. 
8. ^ Christiane Bird, Da Capo Jazz and Blues Lover's Guide to the U.S. (2001) ISBN 0306810344
9. ^ "Nathan Elkus, 89, Detroit retailer"
10. ^ "Zoot Suit Required Cutting and Cajoling"
11. ^ Jive

External links

• The Zoot-Suit and Style Warfare, a well-referenced article by Stuart Cosgrove on the origin and history of the zoot suit and zoot suit riots.
• The Zoot Suit Riots. Article about the zoot suit riots of 1943.
• Difference between fedoras and zoot hats
• "Powerdressing - Zoot Suits". History, Periods & Styles. Victoria and Albert Museum. http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/periods_styles/hiddenhistories/zootsuits/index.html. Retrieved 2008-06-11.