As 'Zoot Suit' shop number dwindle, El Pachuco in Fullerton celebrates 45 years in business

FULLERTON, Calif. - The last Zoot Suit store in the U.S. still tailoring outfits in the classic 1940s style can be found in none other than Fullerton. And this week, El Pachuco Zoot Suits celebrates its 45th anniversary.

"It feels terrific, I have to pinch myself," said the store's owner Phyllis Estrella, about the anniversary. "It was really a long shot."

Estrella started the business in 1978, after watching the play "Zoot Suit." She loved the bold styles, but when she went out to buy one of the famous suits, she said she had trouble finding anything.

Instead, Estrella created her own pattern and hired a tailor to bring her visions to life. 

In the beginning, she and her husband promoted El Pachuco in Low Rider magazine, and traveled to car shows on the weekends to find new clients.

For Estrella, her store was an idea that she hoped would take off. But early on in her journey, she found that, just like in the play she loved, the suits still carried a "thug-like image" with them ever since the 1943 Zoot Suit Riots.

Historians say the mobs were fueled by ethnic and racial tensions and used patriotism as a pretext to target mostly Chicano youth, although Black and Filipino Zoot Suiters were also roughed up and arrested. 

"Pachucos," as they were known, were portrayed as Mexican-American gang members, and their flashy clothes were viewed as unpatriotic because fabric was rationed at the time. 

The Estrellas said that the suits were oversized because young Pachucos often wore clothes belonging to much bigger relatives, or repurposed existing fabric. 

That's why Estrella named her store El Pachuco. 

"I wanted to give the Pachucos respect, " she said. " They had everything against them."

Estrella said that because of this, when she first opened her shop, the reception was not all positive. 

"Parents didn't want the kids to wear the style to school prom and the school would not allow them, " she said.

But today, feelings have changed. The same clothes that were once avoided are now celebrated. Stars like Johnny Depp and Edward James Olmos are just a couple of El Pachuco's famous clientele.

For Estrella and her husband, El Pachuco's success is a dream come true.