Hi,

Any idea where I could buy a zoot suit?

Steve

Get one made by a tailor.

You might check out:
http://www.suavecito.com/custpics3.htm
They have the biggest selection I have ever seen!

Contact Oscar Munoz (Gold Cups Winner) at:

http://www.oscarmunoz.com/

Oscar and I grew up minutes from each other, and 20 min. from the now "Collector's Workshop" in the Rio Grande Valley where he went on to be a huge success in the area.

Ask him for his tailor's information.

Oscar has a bookin' schedule that would make most drop dead (Schools to the Magic Castle July 2003).

He and his wife are truly amazing!

Steve,

I ordered my custom zoot suit from http://www.zootsuitstore.com

They have fast service and lifetime repairs on all their suits.

Zootsuitstore.com, definitely.

I had my mom make me one (black w/ white pinstripes). If you sew or know someone willing to (it's a big undertaking), take a regular suit jacket pattern, extend the length, add shoulder pads (for wider shoulders), and for the pants make them baggier and tapered at the foot, with a triple pleat. =)

Make sure you wear black & white wingtip shoes with it. =)

You'll be swingin'! =)

--Diavo

I just saw a lot of them on ebay..

Who can actually define a "Zoot Suit"? I just don't get it....weird.

Jakks

I can but it would lead to a very long rant, and become opinionated...so I shall not. Suffice it to say that they aren't for all tastes...

I have rented them from Herb Easley, the late Bert Easley's son, here. Very reasonable, and he will ship them to your city.

http://www.easleys.com

The zoot suit was all the rage in the thirties and forties. It was the "gangsta" look of the day... worn by Mexicans and Blacks in dance halls in Harlem and East LA.

It basically was a HUGE suit... pants that came up to the chest, with large pleats, and a jacket down to the fingertips, with large lapels. It was worn with a wide tie, and a long watch chain, that could be swung in circles, while the wearer pimp-walked in jive-daddy style.

Zoot Suits Are Very Available If You Are In The Right Or Wrong Place

Zoot suits are very commonly available in very ethnic (black) men's clothing stores in the South. That is because they are very common "church" clothing in the South among rural blacks. (You should also know that it makes your act an ethnic act in these markets. Also it will very likely divide your audience acceptance if you are not black or Hispanic. You may be marked as a "wanta be" fake. Do your marketing research very carefully before committing to this costume and character. It is one of those things that can make your act totally inappropriate for the market.)

The Zoot suits are very available right off the rack. You can pick your colors from pin stripes to loud reds, yellows, oranges, greens, pinks, etc. They are also very cheap compared to even fair quality men's suits. The source I am giving below frequently advertises them at two for $100 complete with accessories. To buy or not to buy is your decision. I am only passing on a source. I have no personal experience with the vendor but have observed their business for several years. (It looks like I'll never outgrow having been a university Marketing professor.) I will tell you, for whatever it's worth, that the store is within shouting distance of the police station in an essentially all black city.

The source is:
On Time Fashions
1120 Alabama Ave.
Selma, AL 36701
(334) 874-8222

You may also want to call the Chambers of Commerce in cities like Montgomery, Atlanta, Memphis, or Tuskegee for other leads.

Good luck with your search.

Bob Sanders

The Gamesters get away with it and I don't think anyone would consider them an ethnic act. I have been considering it for my Stage Hypnotist character. A cool cat and his time machine dropping in to take you on a wild mind ride.

I'm sorry but you must be kidding! What type of ethnic act are you talking about? Black, Hispanic or White swing dancers from Kalamazoo! In the 1940's zoot suits might have had a negative status with the zoot suit riots. Over the past ten years they became very fashionable on runways worldwide and among young (usually white) swing dancers, as well as pimps! You can find them in suit shops and tuxedo stores in almost every mall in America, on (all white) bands like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy who played at the Super Bowl a few years ago and on many actors at the Academy Awards

Sorry for the rant but zoot suits have come in and out of fashion for years.

You can also check out the following sites:
http://www.elpachuco.com
http://www.stacyadams.com (modern shoes and suits with a retro style)
H. John's in Oakland, CA
Men's Fashion Depot in San Diego had them years ago.
Siegel's Men’s Fashions in San Francisco which owns http://www.zootsuitstore.com

Jay,

Sorry if you are offended. It certainly was not the intent. However, I'm not making the news, just reporting it. As a marketing professor (very well versed in formal marketing research for some of the Fortune 500), a former owner of a retail chain, former owner of one of the larger booking agencies, and an entertainer, I stand by my statement. Zootsuits are a costume for a very easily profiled audience. Some people do play to that audience. If it fits, go for it! That's your decision.

It's not a case of blacks versus whites. It is an ethnic and lifestyle consumption pattern as easy for a professional marketing researcher to profile as a diabetic, fighter pilot, or US Senator. Birds of a feather flock together in more than just dress. Professional marketers also use measures of psychographics that are often more telling than demographics.

My advice is simply make sure you belong before jumping in. A basic truth in personality marketing is that first impressions are very lasting. Entertainers and politicians have to be very careful. Ask Kerry and Bush!

You are also correct in that there is a considerable difference between fashion and style. Short-term flukes don't usually make for long successful career paths. I’ve booked plenty of "stars" who were very lucky to get their old jobs back driving bread trucks and delivering pizza. There were also plenty of, on the surface, less well-known entertainers who have very successful and enduring careers. Frankly they tend to make the most money and have the longest careers in the entertainment industry.

Entertainers are much more replaceable than paying audiences. Ask any professional agent.

Good Luck!

Bob
Magic By Sander

I wear a zoot suit, in a 1940s period act. I ain't lost any work. Look at my picture. I went through very extensive research to blend the zoot suit style and chicago mobster style.

And get 'em from zootsuitstore.com. Very reasonably priced and good on authenticity.

I'll chime is as someone who occasionally dons the gear of a Zoot. It doesn't work for everyone!

I like it a lot, but I prefer to wear something less disturbing, seems far too big to me. Anyway I usually take off all the jackets in the beginning of the show

You've got! This is about fit between the offering and the paying customer.

Good Luck!

Bob
Magic By Sander