A Quiet Revolution.

Like women, men in the 1970s benefited from the same spirit of choice and experimentation unleashed by the 1960s. The two most important innovations in the 1970s were the increase in men's leisure wear and the use of new colors and fabrics. The white shirt fell into a fashion abyss, while double-knit and stretch-knit suits became popular. Rose, purple, orange, and green became acceptable colors for men's leisure wear and regularly appeared in bright patterns on the synthetic shirts worn by men in urban centers. Wide ties in big floral prints could be seen under light-colored, wide-lapeled jackets and slightly belled and pleated pants on a typical evening out in any city in the United States. By 1977 menswear came out of its "peacock period," as one critic commented and returned to classic traditional fabrics, tailoring, and styling that would come to epitomize...