In Search of 72

I was listening to someone complain about dating guys wearing clothes from 1972, when it occurred to me that outside of a vague generalized conception of a stylistic upheaval between the 60's and the 70's, I can't really picture with any specificity what a stylish outfit from 1972 looks like.
When in doubt about fashion trends, the place to look is Hollywood.

First stop: Wikipedia's listing of the 10 highest grossing films in 1972 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_in_film).

Oooooo, #2 is The Poseidon Adventure, I remember loving this movie--Gene Hackman has never since been so dramatic, Shelly Winters had never before been so Reubenesque, and Carl Malden. . . .okay, he was pretty much the same as usual.

Next stop: Google images, The Poseidon Adventure (http://www.google.com/search?q=the+poseidon+adventure&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1366&bih=638)

This is certainly a gem:



But in any era, rich people on boats aren't representative of much other than rich people on boats. Perhaps a more appropriate avenue of inquiry would be the #1 grossing film of 72, The Godfather. Diane Keaton has never been my favorite actress, but no one can deny that she has always lived on the cutting edge of urban fashion.

Eureka!





Loud pattern, excessive frills, but on the whole, I've seen worse.