Author:
Simulacrum
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Date:
9/15/2020 10:57:29 AM
Subject:
RE: zoot suits..
Zoot suits emerged in the 1930s and became a thing in the '40s. The press bagged on them because clothes material was rationed during the war. Nobody bought a ready-made zoot suit. Instead, they got pants, coat, etc. about two sizes too big. The exaggerated size was perceived as an act of anti-patriotism. See
this article
for elaboration.
Hispanics did indeed wear zoot suits. You probably came across
this Wikipedia item
on the Zoot Suit Riots in Los Angeles.
The film version of Guys and Dolls has characters dressed in something approaching zoot suits, though I think the costuming scheme was intended as a mix of latter-'40s zoot and early '50s yegg culture.
