By Michelle Threadgould – Racked.com.

One of the earliest moments when rosaries appeared in the popular fashion consciousness happened in ’30s and ’40s Los Angeles. Chicano youth, known as pachucas and pachucos, wore rosary beads in part to proudly highlight their Hispanic heritage. The American-born sons and daughters of Mexican migrants began to form their own identity, one that was emphatically separate from white Protestant America. Men wore a flamboyant style of draped pants, colorful shirts, and loud suspenders, often paired with black or wood rosaries. Women would often wear fishnet stockings, flowers in their hair, and fitted skirts that responded to the hyperfemininity of the time. The style was popularized by the play and film Zoot Suit, which was about the East LA Zoot Suit Riots.

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