Long ago, when the World was at war with each other—for the second time— in Los Angeles there was a group of young men called Pachucos who wore crisp, dapper suits with long coattails and pegged style pants. They accessorized these suits with a sensual type of brimmed hat. The men who wore these suits were of Mexican descent or Chicano. Unfortunately, this style was associated with delinquency. The young Los Angeleno man wearing the attire could have been a star citizen, but because he was Chicano, he was ostracized and brutalized by the white establishment. This all came to a peak in the Zoot Suit Riots when white Angelenos and cops stripped any youth that wore zoot suits. Zoot suits were considered unpatriotic at the time because of their excess of fabric and extravagance.
Pachucos
Pachucas
However, the men were not the only ones wearing zoot suits. The women wore zoot suits as well. These were pachucas. The women of the Zoot Suit Riots. The women who made the suits and in another breath fought oppression. Pachucas style was characterized by high bouffants and finger coats and salient makeup. The pachuca was ostracized not just by the white community but also by their own community. Their style went against the ascribed ideals of Mexican femininity and so for the women it was not just about fighting a racist anti-brown establishment, it was a chance to stick-it-to-the-machista in their own home.