Zoot Suits: The History and Controversy of the Flashy Men’s Attire

By | January 21, 2019

test article image
Blue Rondo a la Turk, Aug 1981. Source: (Photo by: Graham Smith/PYMCA/UIG via Getty Images)

For several decades, the zoot suit was a flashy, jazzy style trend for men. The popular suit wasn’t trendy with all segments of the population. In fact, it was the preferred men’s suit for minority groups such as African-Americans, Latinos, and Italian Americans, who wore the high-waisted, baggy trousers and wide-lapelled suit coats as a way to identify them as members of these groups. Here are some facts you probably didn’t know about the history of zoot suits

test article image
Source: (yesmagazine.org)

Zoot Suits were not Just for the Roaring Twenties

Today, we may think of zoot suits as clothing that was popular during the 1920s. In reality, zoot suits came into fashion at the tail end of the twenties, and then they were only worn by jazz entertainers as a flashy, on-stage costume. The public was slow to catch on to the zoot suit craze, but the outfit was gaining momentum by the close of the 1930s.