I thought it was just the name of a song, but no-- there actually were zoot suit riots in LA, back in the summer of 1943.
At the time, deep in the early involvement of the US in World War II, fabric was one of the many things being rationed. And the zoot suits, with their large lapels, bit tails, and heavily padded shoulders, were seen as a flagrant symbol of rebellion and anti-patriotism. And, shortly after some Latinos were railroaded during the investigation of a local murder, some Marines in town got hassled by a bunch of Latino teenagers in zoot suits, and... well, things went south pretty quickly. The servicemen turned out in force over the next few days, running pretty wild in the Latino section of town, beating up pretty much anyone who got in their way, while police looked the other way. The Latinos fought back. Eventually, the Armed forces intervened, confining and relocating the servicemen, while the Latinos were... well, mostly just arrested. Not pretty, but at least it shut the fighting down. Subsequently, zoot suits were declared illegal to wear in LA, a law that is apparently still on the books.
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