Dozens of white tuxedos dotted the lobby of Burlingame's Hyatt Regency hotel. One young man wore a suit of muted pastels, his ears studded with diamonds, but it was 16-year-old Ian Hannah, dressed in a pinstripe zoot suit, who defined prom night panache.

"I love the 1940s -- the cars, the style and culture," said the junior at Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco, whose retro ensemble didn't end with his feathered fedora, draped chain or pocket square. Hannah and girlfriend Angelica Leiva, a student at Immaculate Conception Academy, arrived in a black 1952 Chevy.

Like many attending the event, the couple coordinated their outfits. Leiva's black cocktail dress was the perfect complement to the natty red and black suit her boyfriend rented from Siegel's Clothing Superstore on Mission Street.

"It's the busiest time of year -- prom, spring weddings -- it's the high season for us," said owner Michael Gardner, who noticed zoot suits regaining popularity with prom-goers a while back.

"About 16 years ago, when we had another president named Bush -- that's the last time we were in the economic slump similar to what we're in now," he explained. "And that's (also) when schools started loosening up and you didn't have to wear a tuxedo to the prom. You had to wear a tie and a suit, but you didn't have to wear a tux."

It's fitting that young men, the same demographic who popularized the snazzy suits during World War II, continue to embrace the style.

Zoot suits premiered in the Harlem jazz scene toward the end of the 1930s. It was their high-waisted pant and long coat with wide lapels that set the suits, associated with young African American, Mexican American, Italian American and Filipino American men, apart. The garments are historically associated with the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943, when U.S. servicemen viciously attacked Zooters in East Los Angeles, beating them up and burning their clothing. (At the time, a front page article in the New York Times said the first zoot suit was purchased by a black bus worker in Gainesville, Ga., who had set out to look like Rhett Butler in 'Gone With The Wind,' " according to Stuart Cosgrove, author of the 1984 essay "The Zoot-Suit and Style Warfare.")

The racial clash was memorialized in Luis Valdez's play "Zoot Suit," which premiered in 1978. The band Cherry Poppin' Daddies released an album and danceable title track named, "Zoot Suit Riot" about the incident in 1997, and it became a multiplatinum hit. With young people kicking up their heels to modern swing, bands like the Brian Setzer Orchestra and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy moved to the forefront of the pop music scene. Siegel's enjoyed "its 15 minutes of fame" during the ensuing dot-com era, Gardner recalls.

A conservative dresser, Gardner doesn't own a zoot suit, though he ships them all over the world. He bought Siegel's, which he says is the largest men's store in the United States west of Philadelphia, in 1977.

At first glance, the Mission Street business looks more like a place to purchase workmen's coveralls or Ben Davis chinos than evening wear, but with each step inside, more fashion eye candy is displayed.

There are suits in shades of lilac, coral gold and even cobalt blue with a silver metallic design. A plethora of accessories are offered to gents who want to achieve a signature look ranging from dapper to gangster -- a single, double or triple chain? Shoes in a rainbow of hues and styles are offered with two, sometimes three color combinations and there are finishes -- from faux ostrich to faux croc. Then there are hats -- a selection of 10,000 to fit every head. And shirts and ties from shiny to patterned fabrics.

If they don't have the look you have in mind? They'll make it.

"People send us fabric all the time and we make them for them," said Gardner. Even a glow-in-the-dark suit? "Sure," he answered with confidence. "Send us the fabric." One man wanted a gray duct tape suit so he sent over a case of tape.

Aside from many a unique customer, students going to proms or quinceaneras and partygoers coming in for rentals, the list of celebrities that Siegel has outfitted reads like a who's who of the entertainment business -- from cast members in the 1981 movie version of Valdez's "Zoot Suit," which starred Edward James Olmos, to Jim Carrey for "The Mask." The actor wore 12 identical gold polka-dot-lined zoot suits while filming the blockbuster.

"We make colors -- purple, bright yellow," Gardner said, his voice trailing off as he glanced around at the celery, mustard and fire engine red zoot suits hanging on a nearby rack. "We're not afraid of those colors."

He said they also understand flash -- which is why Siegel's has been tapped to outfit entertainers on the "MTV Music Awards," "American Idol" and "Dancing With the Stars." The store does clothing for mobster movies and "The Sopranos" and has a fair number of musician clients, including bluesman B.B. King and rappers 50 Cent and Diddy.

"We specialize in clothing fulfillment for the motion picture entertainment industry," added the 59-year-old Gardner, who got fitted for his first suit at Siegel's back when it was the place to go in the city. Today, 82 percent of the store's market is outside of its two Bay Area locations, in San Francisco and on Grand Avenue in Oakland.

"We're basically in the mail-order business," he explained. Apparently, it's not a bad business to be in, given that Siegel's has warehouses in San Francisco, Milwaukee and New York City to keep up with the demand for the 40,000 apparel items it carries.

Gardner has watched the Mission District suffer over the years as storefronts on the block go vacant and the sidewalks are sacrificed to drug traffic and vagrants pedaling fake IDs, but those looking for snazzy attire -- from high school students to socialites -- still make their way to his store.

Adam Butterfield had driven by Siegel's in Oakland a number of times before deciding to rent a black and red zoot suit for the Bishop O'Dowd junior prom last month. Rentals are priced at $99.99 for the basic jacket, pants, shirt and tie. It costs an additional $50 to be totally zooted-out in spectator shoes, suspenders, chains, a hat and a pair of pimp socks that the customer gets to keep. Promotional suits can be purchased for $149.99, but most custom hook-ups are $200 to $300.

Butterfield, who has a small collection of dress hats, said wearing a zoot suit to the dance, held at Albert H. DeWitt Officers' Club in Alameda, piqued his interest in them. He plans to rent a different zoot suit for the Bentley School's prom, which he will also attend. "I really liked the style and idea of bringing back something old, and being unique," the 16-year-old said.

Zoot yourself

Siegel's Clothing Superstore, 2366 Mission St., San Francisco, (415) 824-7729.

Siegel's Tuxedo Shop, 3906 Grand Ave., Oakland, (510) 547-2488.