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zoot suit
Style of suit characterized by a nearly knee-length coat with wide shoulders accompanied by baggy, high-waisted, pleated trousers tapered towards the ankles (drapes), a low crowned, wide-brimmed hat, pointed-toe shoes and an extra long keychain. Emerging in the late 1930's within black youth jazz culture (hepcats), the zoot suit was a wild exaggeration of the typical men's suit and accessories of the era and reputed to have been originally inspired by a custom order based on the civil war period costume worn by Clark Gable as Rhett Butler in "Gone With the Wind". The name "zoot" suit likely has roots relating to a combination of the mainstream culture image of the reefer smoking hepcat and hepcat slang. It is believed that the style was quickly popularized among the Harlem jazz scene and spread westward where it became adopted as the hallmark of the pachuco. As world war II-era materials restrictions were imposed articles of clothing utilizing excessive fabric were demonized as "unpatriotic" and a mark of rebellion against the status quo, subservience and anything square. Acts of hooliganism among some members of the pachuco crowd in war-era Los Angeles gave ample reason for drunken servicemen to seek out and bash on Mexican youths, leading to the "zoot suit riots". Today the zoot suit remains as an outlandish reminder of what may be the original fashion symbol of minority youth-culture rebellion.
Related Words
Zoot Suit • Zoot Suit Riot • Zoot her suit • Zoot • Zoot zoot • zoot chute • zoot and toot • Zoot block • Zoot Blow • zoot burgler
zoot suit
a man's suit characterized by a long jacket with broad, padded shoulders and high waisted pants(they were very popular with urban black people and Los Angeles Chicanos in the 1920s 30s and 40s)
zoot suit by The Return of Light Joker January 3, 2008
zoot suit
A suit worn by Pachuco boys when they stop hanging out on street corners and beating each other up, and go to a dance.
zoot suit by Bumkicker Slade May 14, 2005
zoot suit
zoot suit by T-dogg1987 November 22, 2006
Zoot Suit
Zoot Suit by Hugh G Rection October 30, 2003