THE ZOOT SUIT
The Zoot Suit And Style Warfare is about how the zoot suit is an exaggerated costume, it holds an opposing history. A zoot suit is a men’s suit which was high waisted, wide legged, tight cuffed, pegged trousers and was paired with a long coat that had wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. The word zoot meant something worn or performed in an extravagant style. It was a symbol of ethnicity and a way of negotiating an identity. The “killer diller coat” was a uniform worn by young rioters during the summer of 1943 and this symbolized the panic of juvenile delinquency which was intensified during the postwar period. Zoot suits were also a way for Mexican Americans to show off their differences. The zoot suits have a big history behind them. It was later symbolized in a negative way where zoot suits riots affected the production of zoot suits and later a law passed banning zoot suits. Zoot suits were later symbolized by gangs that were predominantly black and Mexican subcultures and white American servicemen that were stationed along the Pacific coast. People were robbed and beaten with many things such as tire irons, weighted ropes, belts and fists.
