The local media was only too happy to fan the flames of racism and moral outrage: On June 2, 1943, the Los Angeles Times reported: “Fresh in the memory of Los Angeles is last year’s surge of gang violence that made the ‘zoot suit’ a badge of delinquency.
Servicemen and many other people, however, saw the oversized suits a flagrant and unpatriotic waste of resources. War Production Board regulated the production of civilian clothing containing silk, wool and other essential fabrics.ĭespite these wartime restrictions, many bootleg tailors in Los Angeles, New York and elsewhere continued to make the popular zoot suits, which used profligate amounts of fabric. entry into World War II, wool and other textiles were subject to strict rationing.
Wartime patriotism didn’t help matters: After the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the U.S. Latino youths in California known as “pachucos”-often wearing flashy zoot suits, porkpie hats and dangling watch chains-were increasingly viewed by affluent whites as menacing street thugs, gang members and rebellious juvenile delinquents. 8 Images Zoot Suits: ‘A Badge of Delinquency’Īs the zoot suit became more popular among young men in African American, Mexican American and other minority communities, the clothes garnered a somewhat racist reputation.
