The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) was in dire need of a zoot suit for its collection some years ago. When this rare piece of clothing came up at an auction on the East Coast, the museum bid on it by phone. The opening bid was $500.00 but within minutes had jumped to "five figures." The museum's successful bid "set a new auction record for twentieth-century menswear." The museum is making this most magnificent suit of clothes (seen below) available as a garment pattern for free download as part of its Pattern Project: Undertaking the Making. You can learn more about the Zoot Suit here.