Zoot Suit 1940-42 Unknown Designer

When I visited the MOMA museum, the garment that strikes my attention was the zoot suit. Referencing back to the class discussions we had in the lecture on the Zoot suit, I thought this was an important garment to displayed to represent a culture. In the year 1931, New York Times stated the African American men in Harley were “ fashion plates who were several jumps ahead of the rest of the world” (Foster 1997; 235).By the late 1930’s, the soot suit was seen as a representation of urban jazz culture, and the style consisted of a drape shape, pleats, and padded shoulders, full pants that can be gathered or pegged at the ankle. This suit had a major contribution to the African American community because already being denied in the masculine world of privilege, men in the jazz culture used the root suit to highlight their differences from hegemonic masculinity while also using the suit as a symbol of power. (Kaser 139) This style was also used by Mexican American young men, pachucos to reflect a particular Mexican national consciousness being caught within two cultures: The United States and Mexico. This trend became very popular among Mexican American young men in Los Angeles in the Hollywood scenery. This suit of power was a result of cultural anxiety and ultimately the cause of series of riots around the country. The riots consisted of predominantly white soldiers often in uniform, against the young African and Mexican American men about the same age. The tension has formed in Los Angeles in 1943, between June 3-June 13th. A large number of zoot suiters were arrested without evidence as to what they were punished for.

Eventually, the hegemonic business suit was transformed into a toned down version of the zoot suit. Appropriating the rejected style of the zoot suit, pleated trousers, and fuller jacket cut style was created afterward.