A zoot suit is a men's 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 became popular in African-American, Mexican American, Italian American, Jewish American, and Filipino American communities during the 1940s.

What does the zoot suit represent?

The city made clear of its stance on the zoot suit, which, to it, represented both the gall of Mexican youth and the threat of criminality. And so the attacks by off-the-clock military servicemen on these communities in 1943 presented the opportunity for blatant violence on zoot suiters.

Why was it called a zoot suit?

Although its exact origin is unknown, the term “zoot suit” appears to have come from the rhyming slang, or jive, spoken in the African-American community at the time, Peiss says. “They were generally worn by young men of African-American descent, initially,” Peiss says.