Looooove the bow tie. Was it black velvet, perhaps? Oh holy night! Would that yellow polyester suit have clashed with my seafoam green prom dress? Thanks for sharing.

What are you talking about Rich...you totally had it going on with that suit and the "soul train shoes". That look is coming back soon and you have proof that you were on the cutting edge.

Right, Style: Blue velvet. Clip-on.

David, it gets worse: I was on the debate team, too. When I walked in, I could light up the whole room.

Oh, Rich, you are priceless in wit and introspection

Rich,
Love the Tom McCann shoes........

Why do men always get better with age? It just isn't fair! That bowtie is huge!!

This is AWESOME, Rich. You were so earnest looking! And that red hair is kinda sexy, but don't tell your wife I said that.

Shelle, please don't tell my wife I posted this pic, ha!

Rich, thanks for sharing this nice photo! It's interesting how your friend's gown is quite timeless in design--could be a dress from today for a gala event. Looking at your lapels made me realize how much fabric apparel companies have not had to use as lapels remained narrower in more recent years. Fashion is always repeating itself, so I imagine we'll be back to the look of your jacket, slacks and tie before long.

Oh, my. My prom date had a baby blue tux and I thought THAT was bad. This is a whole new kind of bad. So bad, it's almost good.

I'm just mad about saffron.
Saffron's mad about me.
They call me mellow yellow.


Not quite so nicely.

Thumbed for courage.

That's a fabulous suit - I kind of want one like it!

Oh Rich, sweetie, it's not just that you wore a polyester yellow suit to the Prom. It's that you wore a polyester yellow suit WITH PLAID PANTS to the Prom. And the biggest bow tie I've ever seen.

The '70s were not kind to fashion. ;)

If you still had that suit today, you could sell for a fortunate at a vintage shop. Really.

Kudos for the cajones in posting this.

Mer, it is clearly of a class with many of the Bozo "power" ties worn by women in the late '80s, early '90s. Plaid pants were my trademark, senior year. I've never worn a bow tie since; I guess I kind of got it all out of my system with that one, and probably just that one night.

The smile :-( on your face tells it all. You sure were having fun!!! And the setting is priceless too - a Greek/Italian garden on a linoleum floor.
Rated for innocence and bravery.

Dude. Give me back my leisure suit!

She's HAWT and looks like she may have a buzz working? :-D
I'm sure just a blink, but she does look like you may have spiked the punch!

Awesome shot red. You could make four bow ties out of that one Rich.

Adorable!

O my...who killed the couch? The seamstress in the parlor with a pair of scisors? The tailor in the hallway with a coat brush?

Oh Rich - you are a fashion plate, but your date - very laura ashley. You make a stunning couple.

ah, you're a red head! I come from a long line of redheads. Redheads aren't like everyone else. That suit is really boss, Rich.

I just have to know, what was the theme of the prom? Oh, and did you wear a powder blue tux to your wedding?

Great shoes. Really. Just great. Was your part-time job killing cockroaches?

Loved and rated.

That is the most awesome bow tie the world has ever known.

Hot pic, Rich.

Oh Rich, my second husband had those pants and shoes! He had an entire closet full of plaid, cuffed polyester when I met him in different colors, he had dark hair and blue eyes, so he wore different colors, but the patterns were the same.

Could you do the Hustle, and I am not talking about that phony throwback John Travolta thing, but the actual platform shoes and cuffed plaid pants smooth disco dancing thang?

You are the man!

A picture is worth a thousand words....

Plaid pants as a trademark? Well, that's OK then, obviously you HAD to wear plaid to prom. :)

Rich,wasn't a bad idea at all. So glad you put the pic in. Also glad you are no longer a jerk and a moron.

Despite the ahhh..interesting attire, it looks like you, Rich,
are ready to go forward and conquer the world. I hope you
have retained that attitude.

You are BAD!!!! And I mean that in a good, bad way!!!!!!!! Too cool for words Rich.... too cool... That suit is fresh!!!! :)

I never learned the Hustle, or any of the other official dances of my youth. I believe the prom theme was "Southern Plantation Life" or "Banana Republican Vacation Getaways" or some such.

It's the plaid pants that do it for me but as if I have any room to talk. My senior picture looks nearly as bad. It was my 'pre-swan' years... Yeah, that's it... It still makes me cringe. My mom picked it out. I looked like a 70's airport lounge singer...

How much did that bow tie weigh?!?

So that's where those shoes went. I wondered what I did with 'em. Not sure how you got them...but I know there couldn't have been two pair made!

You looked great.

Is that a bow tie you are wearing...or were you into sail planes?

OMG I LOVE IT!!!!

No it would not have the same impact...and the hair

There are no words :-)

If Richie and Fonzi had a baby together...

Oh yeah, that tie!

My prom date wore a sort of — wow, I can't explain! — peachy colored leisure suit to my junior prom. For homecoming he wore a red/white/blue houndstooth leisure suit, and fluorescent green socks. His mom picked them out.

See? It could have been worse.

dude! you were styling!

Whoa...looking at this, I can almost hear the distant strains of "Stairway to Heaven." My prom date had a similar ensemble, only in powder blue.

You definitely qualify for the the Herb Tarlek award. (Remember Herb? The sales manager at WKRP in Cincinnati?)

Nothing ages less gracefully than a tie, any tie. This is a pretty good example. Lookit: it's all droopy, too, mirroring how I felt that evening.

Quite an outfit, but very authentic. Bravely posted.

Rich, I love your good nature man. You're as cool as the other side of the pillow. Question: On a windy night, would that tie spin fast enough to actually fly?

ha, excellent observation about ties - nothing will date you faster, except maybe hair.

Hair, ties and shoes Sandra. And separately, FACIAL HAIR!
Think Mullet with a goatee.

Forget the clothes for a moment. My eyes had trouble translating the column, the potted plant, and the wrought-iron table . . . so for a few seconds, I thought you and your date were posing in front of a pot-bellied stove, which seemed like an interesting backdrop for a prom photo.

It's hard to single out one element from your ensemble that really captures the era . . . but I think I have to go with the tie.

I've been trying to remember the theme of the prom, which I think was "Tropical Paradise" or "Hawaiian Dream" or something, but the only fake backdrop they had on hand was Ante-Bellum Southern Plantation. Her dress is almost timeless, though it embodied the peasant element she favored. In many ways similar to spritely Leigh Nash was Jan.

Wow.
You look VERY handsome.
However, I can hear that jacket down the hall!

Woo hooooo!!!!

(thumbified for sheer loudness and hottietude)

Thanks, Jody! You can come thumbify me any day!

React?

wow.

Thanks for putting a smile on my face first thing in the morning!

Toni

I would say circa 1971-73? My senior prom attire was a brown tux, pumpkin shirt, velvet bow tie and brown platform shoes. But, what do you expect from the decade that gave the world the Bunt Cake.

Seniors '74.

I was class of 74 as well