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
Safari jacket later found on safari jackets. The earliest reference to a 'safari suit' listed in "The Oxford English Dictionary" is from an American newspaper in 1935. In 1936, author and adventurer Ernest Hemingway designed a 'bush jacket' which was made by Willis & Geiger Outfitters. In 1939, Abercrombie & Fitch advertised safari jackets, shorts and trousers, of 'coat shirt style' for sports and leisure wear. In the 1960s and 1970s safari suits became fashionable thanks to designer versions for men and women by, for example, French designers Ted Lapidus and Yves Saint Laurent, both of whom are among those credited with