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
Frock coat century, the subject under discussion here, is a different garment altogether with separate military origins in the 19th century, although a remote historical connection to the frock cannot entirely be excluded, as is the case with similar looks variably referred to as redingote or riding coat. Other meanings of the term "frock" include clerical garb, and a type of woman's dress combining a skirt with a shirt–blouse top. The men's "redingote" was an 18th-century or early 19th century long coat or greatcoat, derived from the country garment with a wide, flat collar called a "frock". In French and several other