The Cultural Impact and Controversy of the Zoot Suit

From zoot suiters and mods, to mashers and Congolese sapeurs, since the early 19th century, fashionable male subcultures have popped up across the globe. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, Peter Andersson examines how the idea of the 'dandy' has evolved over time, and argues that the idea of dressing well was not limited to the elites.

(Ad) Peter Andersson is the author of The Dandy: A People's History of Sartorial Splendour (Oxford University Press, 2025). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dandy-Peoples-History-Sartorial-Splendour/dp/0198882432/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.

The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.

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