Zoot suit Zoot suit A zoot suit (occasionally spelled zuit suit) is a men's suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, ged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. This style of clothing became especially popular among the Latino, African American, Italian American, and Filipino American communities during the 1940s. Some observers claim that the "Edwardian-look" suits with velvet lapels worn by Teddy Boys in Britain are a derivative of the zoot suit. Zoot suits were first associated with African Americans in urban communities such as Harlem, Chicago, and Detroit, but were made popular by jazz musicians in the
Trousers period between the 13th and the 10th century BC and made of wool, the trousers had straight legs and wide crotches, and were likely made for horseback riding. Trousers enter recorded history in the 6th century BC, on the rock carvings and artworks of Persepolis, and with the appearance of horse-riding Eurasian nomads in Greek ethnography. At this time, the Iranian People such as Scythians, Sarmatians, Sogdians and Bactrians among others, along with Armenians and Eastern and Central Asian peoples such as the Xiongnu and Hunnu, are known to have worn trousers. Trousers are believed to have been worn by