#zooters

Fashion and identity: Zoot Suit y Los Pachucos

On November 12 the Daily Times ran a story from Milwaukee about the theft of a pair of zoot suit trousers. The police lieutenant did not know what those were, so the complainant drew him a picture. The lieutenant told his men to be on the lookout for a pair of pants “baggy from the ankles up.” A zoot suit had high-waisted, wide-legged, but tight-cuffed trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. It was usually worn with an exaggeratedly long watch chain. Zoot suits were often pinstriped and made in bright colors like yellow, green, bright blue, and purple. Zooters often wore fedoras or pork pie hats color-coordinated with their suits. This style of clothing became especially popular among the African American, Latino, and Italian American communities during the 1940s.

In photogram Edward James Olmos as “El Pachuco”

Eduardo Orozco

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