zoot-suit

A performance artist with a truly subversive sense of humor would don full zoot-suit regalia, truck on down to Zuccotti Park, and use the Human Microphone to deliver a dramatic reading of "Minnie the Moocher."

When the Multitude Shouts With One Voice Eric Felten 2011

Ms. Peiss argues that the zoot-suit riots, as the series of street fights came to be called, were actually old-fashioned race riots.

Hep Cats, Street Fights Eric Felten 2011

The style had largely disappeared by the late 1950s, though every now and then hints of the zoot-suit aesthetic resurface, as in the harem pants worn by MC Hammer in his 15 seconds of fame.

Hep Cats, Street Fights Eric Felten 2011

Yes, the zoot-suit wearers expressed a group identity, as the fashion-conscious will, but they were not lodging a coded protest.

Hep Cats, Street Fights Eric Felten 2011

Imagine if instead of the “urban” Heath Ledger style-makeup decried by Kennicott as “subtly coded racism” had been the “urbane” makeup of the zoot-suit and pimp-hat wearing Jack Nicholson Joker.

The Volokh Conspiracy » The Obama/Joker Poster Is Racist, Says a Washington Post Article by the Newspaper’s Culture Critic: 2009

And my grandfather was an artist, and he came up in New York in the '40s and' 50s, and he spoke in that kind of zoot-suit, hipster lingo of that time, you know, the Beats, and I think I had a lot of influence from him.

Beck: Rambling Grandfathers And 'Modern Guilt' 2008

While a stereotypical black youth, from the zoot-suit era through the bling years, wears flashy clothes, chosen for their aesthetic value, nerdy clothing is purely practical: pocket protectors, belt sheaths for gadgets, short shorts for excessive heat, etc.

That’s mighty nerd of you 2007

He wore pegged pants, platform shoes, and a rainbow tie—the American zoot-suit fashion of the times.

Staying Tuned Daniel Schorr 2001

He wore pegged pants, platform shoes, and a rainbow tie—the American zoot-suit fashion of the times.

Staying Tuned Daniel Schorr 2001

He wore pegged pants, platform shoes, and a rainbow tie—the American zoot-suit fashion of the times.

Staying Tuned Daniel Schorr 2001