Zoot suit: Difference between revisions

The zoot suit was originally associated with black musicians and their sub-culture. According to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', the word ''zoot'' probably comes from a [[reduplication]] of ''suit''. The creation and naming of the zoot suit have been variously attributed to Harold C. Fox, a [[Chicago]] clothier and [[big-band]] [[trumpet]]er;<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/01/arts/harold-fox-who-took-credit-for-the-zoot-suit-dies-at-86.html |title=Harold Fox, Who Took Credit For the Zoot Suit, Dies at 86 |work=[[New York Times]] |date=August 1, 1996 |accessdate=September 11, 2012 |first1=Robert |last1=McG. Thomas}}</ref> Louis Lettes, a [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] tailor;<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ub99o7hy08QC |first1=Christiane |last1=Bird |title=The Da Capo Jazz And Blues Lover's Guide To The U.S. |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-306-81034-3 |publisher=Da Capo Press}}{{page needed|date=September 2012}}</ref> and Nathan (Toddy) Elkus, a [[Detroit]] retailer.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-11744525.html |title=Nathan Elkus, 89, Detroit retailer |work=Daily News Record |date=January 2, 1992 |accessdate=September 11, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/04/opinion/zoot-suit-required-cutting-and-cajoling.html |title=Zoot Suit Required Cutting and Cajoling |work=[[New York Times]] |date=August 4, 1996 |accessdate=September 11, 2012 |first=Philip L. |last=Elkus}}</ref> Anti-Mexican youth riots in Los Angeles during World War II are known as the [[Zoot Suit Riots]]. In time, zoot suits were prohibited for the duration of the war,<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/zoot/eng_peopleevents/e_riots.html People & Events: The Zoot Suit Riots of 1943], American Experience; accessed 2013.06.03.</ref> ostensibly because they used too much cloth.<ref>Use of cloth had already been limited; zoot suits were also seen as unpatriotic.