ZOOT SUITS street trend

Zoot suits came about mainly in the Latin, Hispanic, and African-American communities in the late 1930s and 1940s. This style is derived from the Harlem jazz scene and generally is linked to swing music. Zoot is thought to be the Hispanic way of pronouncing "suit" and is considered to mean suit twice. These suits were characterized by high waist lines and pegged legs, with lots of volume in between. Women were not immune to this culture, though they tended to show up in voluminous dresses ready to swing. John Galliano has a wonderful reinterpretation of this time period in his Spring 2000 collection and actually made zoot suits look fetching for women.

Zoot Suit on the street

Zoot Suits, photo taken by John Ferrell and first published in June 1942 (taken from Wikipedia); Soldier inspecting zoot suits

ZOOT SUIT on the runway

John Galliano, Spring 2000, zoot suit reinterpretation

John Galliano, Spring 2000, zoot suit reinterpretation

John Galliano, Spring 2000, zoot suit reinterpretation

John Galliano, Spring 2000, zoot suit time period reinterpretation of swing outfit for women

John Galliano, Spring 2000, zoot suit time period reinterpretation of swing outfit for women