How to Buy a Zoot Suit

Johnny Depp wears a zoot suit to the premiere of "Once Upon a Time in Mexico."

During the 1940s, zoot suits were a men's fashion statement, particularly among Mexican-Americans, African-Americans, Italian-Americans and Filipino-Americans. Back then, the oversize, drapey suits, often of wool or sharkskin, held the shock value of men wearing long hair in the mid-1960s.

In 1943, the infamous Zoot Suit Riots broke out in Los Angeles. It was a series of bloody brawls between U.S. servicemen on leave and Mexican-American zoot-suiters in ethnic neighborhoods such as Boyle Heights. The zoot suits, worn despite wartime rationing of wools, were seen as defiance of support for the troops.
The zoot suit is back as a fashion statement, after a movie and a play about the riots, and a revival of 1940s swing music and dance, and as a show of Mexican-American pride.

You can still buy or rent a zoot suit. Many men's clothing stores specialize in zoot suit fashions.

Things You'll Need

• Computer
• Internet Connection
• Cash or Credit Card

Instructions

1. Go online and look for El Pachuco, a major manufacturer of modern zoot suit clothing and accessories. Its website lists stores throughout the United States.

2. Visit other websites. For example, Colorado's La Suavecita store's website shows the El Pachuco line as well as styles from other manufacturers. Siegel's Clothing Superstore in San Francisco is another big store with zoot suit fashions.

3. If you don't want to buy off the rack, you can pay more and order a custom zoot suit. Websites feature links about how to order your own.

4. Go vintage. Check vintage clothing stores, and you might find your own authentic blast from the past.

References

• PBS: The American Experience: Zoot Suit Culture
• Zoot Suit Store