Anyone here aged enough to tell me about "Zoot Suiters"

[quakerboy]

Circa WWII, say?

[petronius]

1. I'd be happy to type it into google, and post a link to the first page that pops up

Would that help? :shrug:

If not, I'm afraid I'm not your guy...

[quakerboy]

2. Sure, why not

How old is Google again?

[petronius]

5. Google's old, man - it's been around like forever!

:)

Google gives me this - it's actually quite interesting!

[quakerboy]

7. That was interesting.

I would never have guessed that the info my older friend gave me was so substantially accurate, if terribly culturally biased.

[cwydro]

3. Without googling,

I am gonna say it was pre-WWII. Maybe late 20's or 30's?

Fancy suits with broad shoulders and trousers that were wide at the top and skinny toward the feet. Wide tie. Flashy shirts.

The syle I know, though I am not old enough to remember it.

[Aristus]

4. I'm not that old, but I'm a history buff. What do you want to know about them?

B-)

[quakerboy]

6. Anything and everything

One of my clients is an older gent, a Korea Vet. He tells me of growing up during WWII, California Coastal areas, and how the Zoot Suiters were always brawling with the sailors. He tells of how they all had chains with switchblades attached.

Of course, he is also what some might call happily demented and also believes that he invented the carburetor, and that global warming is the creator having changed the earths axis to increase the growing season. And all I know of zoot suits I learned from swing music. Plus I was curious if we had many/any members of his vintage around.

[Aristus]

8. Well, there is some truth to that. I don't know if you ever heard a song called "Zoot Suit Riot"

that was popular during the retro-swing craze a few years ago. But it refers to a specific incident in L.A. in 1944. The zoot suit was a popular form of fashion rebellion against the wartime clothing rationing. It was popular among a lot of youth groups, but it became a symbol of membership in L.A.'s Puerto Rican gangs, too. A rumour went around that a member of a Puerto Rican zoot suit gang had raped a white girl. Sailors on leave from their ships in the port of L.A. went downtown and beat up everyone they could find who was wearing a zoot suit. Some were gang members and a lot weren't. It got ugly; switchblades, guns, chains, etc., and a few people got killed, I think. And the rape may never have actually happened. It was just one of those nasty reactionary racial things that still happens to this day, of course.

Here's an example of a zoot suit:

[supernova]

11. Linky below - eom

[quakerboy]

14. A few thoughts

I had no idea untill this thread that it was a racial thing at all.

Its good to see somethings don't change (eg youth and strange dress, this is no crazier than baggy pants, legwarmers, or any number of other trends in my lifetime)


I don't suppose you would happen to know what the recreational drug of choice was in that time period/area?

[Aristus]

17. Cocaine and marijuana were both popular street drugs.

And the Puerto Rican gang members "long hair" was cited as a profiling cue by the LAPD. "Long hair" in this case meant thick full hair that touched the collar; basically shorter hair than the Beatles wore twenty years later and caused a stir. And yes, the zoot suit riots were especially ugly incidents of racism. Interesting side note: white zoot suit gangs were notorious for targeting and beating up known homosexuals, or "queers" as they called them. Every gang had its victim of choice...

[quakerboy]

19. Well.. Hmm.

I don't suppose you would happen to know who Invented the carburetor. And the Jet engine? Because apparently my guy isn't imagining everything he says. Also, would you happen to know if there is a database of "congressional medal of honor" winners, or are there just too many?

In case you were wondering, Apparently the Pachuco women of the time were prone to using Straight Razors as curlers in order to whip them out and "cut on each other". Or so says the man who remembers it.

[Oeditpus Rex]

21. The jet engine was invented by Sir Frank Whittle

He documented the idea in 1928 and presented it to the Air Ministry in 1929. They weren't interested. This allowed Germany to produce the first jet airplane, as the German war machine was indeed interested in Hans von Ohain's design.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Whittle

[pokerfan]

22. Wiki has an entry

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoot_Suit_Riots">Zoot Suit Riots

[GCP]

9. Tom and Jerry had a take on it

As I remember, Tom cut his suit out of an old deck chair!

[supernova]

10. Obligatory YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IqH3uliwJY&feature=related

[LostinVA]

12. My father once trued to sue "zoot" in Scrabble

He thought I didn't know what a "zoot suit" was. Triple-letter score with the Z. He was stuck with the z.

[montanto]

13. once trued to sue "zoot" in Scrabble

makes my head hurt to even try to figure out what this means.

[MadrasT]

15. Typo maybe? "sue" instead of "use"?

[LostinVA]

16. It means "use"

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

18. What would you like to know?

It was a youth fashion craze. Which old people liked to whine about, pretty much for the sole reason it was a youth fashion craze. Not unlike baggy pants are today.

[Kali]

20. there was an oral history type of interview I listened to once.

It was with Lalo Guerrero. He was in LA during those times and I remember him talking about it some. might try googling for that.