Calloway appeared in a billowing white zoot suit in the hit 1943 movie musical “Stormy Weather.” The untold story of the Zoot Suit riots: How Black L.A. defended Mexican Americans.

And this all dates back to the Zoot Suit Riots. The days-long attacks by white military servicemen against Mexican Americans in East Los Angeles and downtown happened 75 years ago this week.

Reports from the time explain that white residents saw men in zoot suits as "menacing street thugs, gang members and rebellious juvenile delinquents." And the L.A. Times fanned the flames. On June ...

The zoot suit offered a prime example of fashion’s democratization as the bold, new style gained mass appeal. Young, mainstream wearers all across the country embraced and enhanced their own suits.

During World War II, the Zoot suit became illicit among white society, and the reason was two-fold: on the one hand, there was a fabric shortage and Zoot suits were seen as unpatriotic by the ...

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For Zendaya, this meant shimmying out of her crisp white zoot suit that spoke so much to the Black dandy spirit and into something more sensual and sparkly—and nonetheless exquisitely tailored ...

The Mexican Zoot suit, or Pachuco, was brought into the 21st century last night. The Met Gala 2025's theme of Superfine: Tailoring Black History evoked a range of inspiration from attendees. And ...

So if the creators of "Forever Swing's Zoot Suit: A Big Band Revue" are looking to capitalize on a trend, they're off a few years. Of course connoisseurs of true swing -- and not that "neo" stuff ...

The Zoot Suit Riots erupted in June 1943, when groups of white sailors and soldiers clashed with young Mexican American men who wore flamboyant zoot suits—a style characterized by high-waisted ...