Zoot Suits...
By twoey68
@twoey68 (13627)
United States
October 12, 2007 11:36am CST
I remember the Zoot Suits being somewhat popular when I was growing up in the 80's in Texas. I think their nice looking suits but I think they got somewhat of a bad rap when alot of gangsters in the '50's and '60's wore them. I don't see them anymore but you can still get them online.
Here's a little history on them: Zoot Suits
Sometimes, youth rebellion requires just the right outfit. The zoot suit [wiki], popularized by African-American and Mexican-American teens during the late 1930s and early 1940s, didn’t look like your average workday attire. It had broad shoulders, a tapered waist, and baggy pants that ended in neat, pegged cuffs. All that tailoring (and all that fabric) made the ensemble a kind of defiant luxury item - a sign that the wearer wasn’t affected by Depression-era poverty, World War II fabric rationing, or disapproving looks from Mom.
Have you ever seen them? Have you ever owned one? Do you think their terrible looking or really nice?
**AT PEACE WITHIN**
~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~
4 people like this
13 responses
@susieq223 (3742)
• United States
16 Oct 07
'Scuse me for laughing, but I remember my parents wearing them in the 40's! Oh dear, I think I'm getting older! I never did like them.
1 person likes this
@GnosticGoddess (5626)
• United States
12 Oct 07
I think they're alright as long as they're not all white.
I'm not big on white suits unless it's at a wedding or something like that.
1 person likes this
@Jaytech (2251)
•
12 Oct 07
I like Zoot suits, I used to play in Rockabilly bands & would often wear one on stage, I just like the 50's & 50's look.
There's a great American band called Cherry Poppy Daddies & they did a swing cd a few years back called Zoot Suit Riot & they wore them, a really fun band if you like music that swings :)
http://www.myspace.com/cherrypoppindaddies
Check them out & have a bop
@Destiny007 (5805)
• United States
12 Oct 07
I do think that they are sharp looking, although I have never owned one, and frankly I just don't have the right shape for one now even if I was so inclined.
For the people that can wear them thats fine, for the people that don't have the right shape it would probably just look kind of silly.
1 person likes this
@jillmalitz (5131)
• United States
12 Oct 07
I have seen some., mostly with a comic movie or comedian doing something. They were really popular in shows in the 50's & 60's.
1 person likes this
@worldwise1 (14885)
• United States
12 Oct 07
Having never given the subject of Zoot Suits much thought, twoey, I would have to say that they do have their place in American pop culture. I watched a lot of gangster movies during the 50s and 60s, and they were always prominent in these movies. They were also prominent in many of the earlier black films. Zoot Suits did have a certain flair about them, so it is understandable how they would catch on the way they did. I very much associate them with the Jazz Era in American History.
1 person likes this
