ZOOT SUIT (n.): the ultimate in clothes. The only totally and truly
American civilian suit. -Cab Calloway, The Hepster's Dictionary,
1944 Before the fashion statements of hippies, punks, or hip-hop,
there was the zoot suit, a striking urban look of the World War II
era that captivated the imagination. Created by poor African
American men and obscure tailors, the "drape shape" was embraced by
Mexican American pachucos, working-class youth, entertainers, and
swing dancers, yet condemned by the U.S. government as wasteful and
unpatriotic in a time of war. The fashion became notorious when it
appeared to trigger violence and disorder in Los Angeles in
1943-events forever known as the "zoot suit riot." In its wake,
social scientists, psychiatrists, journalists, and politicians all
tried to explain the riddle of the zoot suit, transforming it into
a multifaceted symbol: to some, a sign of social deviance and
psychological disturbance, to others, a gesture of resistance
against racial prejudice and discrimination. As controversy swirled
at home, young men in other places-French zazous, South African
tsotsi, Trinidadian saga boys, and Russian stiliagi-made the
American zoot suit their own. In Zoot Suit, historian Kathy Peiss
explores this extreme fashion and its mysterious career during
World War II and after, as it spread from Harlem across the United
States and around the world. She traces the unfolding history of
this style and its importance to the youth who adopted it as their
uniform, and at the same time considers the way public figures,
experts, political activists, and historians have interpreted it.
This outre style was a turning point in the way we understand the
meaning of clothing as an expression of social conditions and power
relations. Zoot Suit offers a new perspective on youth culture and
the politics of style, tracing the seam between fashion and social
action.
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