What was going on when I was born?

A film review of ''The Plague Dogs'' on Wednesday incorrectly described the film's animation. It was executed by hand.

Temperatures dropped to the teens, New Yorkers shrank into their down coats, but in the garment district the focus was summer clothes, in torrid shades of lime, mango and raspberry. This was market week in the garment industry, one of the several periods during the year when buyers from department and specialty stores across the country converge on New York with their ''open-to-buys'' - their budgets for the coming season - and visit dozens of showrooms. One of the showrooms at the top of many buyers' lists was Anne Pinkerton's. Miss Pinkerton, a 41-year-old who started her own company 21 months ago, is a leader in ''contemporary wear,'' inexpensive and fast-changing fashion that is aimed at the baby-boom generation. It is arguably the industry's fastest-growing category.

On the whole, the American oil industry has been able to operate relatively loosely for a decade. Oil prices jumped tenfold during the period, and company coffers brimmed. But, aside from some increased dividends, much of the money was not returned to stockholders. Instead, it was poured into disappointing diversification efforts, as well as drilling projects that had limited returns. This free-spending era, however, may now be ending, largely because of the efforts of T. Boone Pickens, the so-called corporate raider from Texas who is chairman of the Mesa Petroleum Company. Analysts say the changes he is sparking in the oil industry should bring long-overdue financial discipline to the surviving companies. The analysts reason that with companies going more heavily into debt, they will have to make more prudent investments. ''In many ways, Boone Pickens is a breath of fresh air,'' said James Scott, a professor of finance at the Columbia Business School. ''Basically, what he's saying is you ought to look at these companies from the point of view of shareholders. It's kind of straight textbook finance.''

In a move that caught the insurance industry and Wall Street analysts by surprise, the Travelers Corporation said yesterday that its president, Alva O. Way, had resigned for ''personal reasons.'' Mr. Way, who is 55 years old, gave up the presidency of the American Express Company in January 1983 to join Travelers, one of the nation's largest multiline insurance companies. Edward H. Budd, Travelers' chairman and chief executive officer, assumed the additional title of president. Neither he nor Mr. Way was available for interviews yesterday, according to a spokesman, Alan R. Fletcher. Asked for further explanation beyond the company's terse press release, Mr. Fletcher said that Travelers had authorized him to add that, ''Mr. Way made a personal decision that he cannot devote full time to the demands required by this job.'' Mr. Way will continue an affiliation with Travelers as a director, the chairman of the finance committee and a consultant.

Markets Stocks soared, with the Dow Jones industrial average jumping 20.76 points, to 1,223.50. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange surged to 124.7 million shares, from 99.2 million. The rally, extending Wednesday's gains, was reinforced by comments from Paul A. Volcker, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. (D1.) Mr. Volcker said the Fed has more flexibility in managing credit now that inflation appears under control. (D4.) The basic money supply fell $500 million in the latest week. The drop was much less than expected and bond prices fell. (D10.)

As the winter's worst cold held its grip on New York City, record numbers of homeless men, women and children took refuge in public shelters, community centers, churches and synagogues. City officials said more than 20,000 homeless people were sheltered on Wednesday night, straining the network of public and private shelters to its limits. And with continued cold and snow in the forecast, officials said the numbers would probably increase. ''The numbers are incredible,'' said Jack Deacy, a spokesman for the city's Human Resources Administration, which runs the shelter program. ''These are disturbing numbers, and I think the system is feeling tremendous pressure to come up with more hotels and more shelter sites.''

The Federal Government has issued a warning that is going to abortion clinics and medical offices around the country of a potential for violence Jan. 20-22. Jan. 20 is the date of the start of President Reagan's second term; Jan. 22 is the 12th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. The Government would not say if it had knowledge of specific threats linked to those dates. The warning was delivered on Dec. 28 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to the Washington office of the National Abortion Federation.

NEW YORK has long been a city of contrasts, and for the photographer - amateur or professional - the contrasts of the city in winter can have a very special appeal. From Central Park, a photographer's paradise no matter what the season, to Rockefeller Center, from Fifth Avenue's shops and strollers to a walk in SoHo, with its fascinating architecture of another era, the possibilities are endless. There is beauty to be found even on the coldest days, and by way of demonstrating it, here is a collection of pictures taken by this newspaper's photographers over the last two weeks along with tips about how they shot them and how the amateur can improve his own pictures. There are also suggestions for a new breed, the video movie maker, and specific advice on taking pictures when the temperature dips below freezing. While in some cases a perceptive eye is required to see the city's winter beauty, in many instances it's just sitting there waiting to be photographed. There's the graphic emptiness of Coney Island at the tip of Brooklyn, the magic of the bare trees at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, the bustle of Orchard Street on the Lower East Side, the unusual lights of the city from the rail of the Staten Island Ferry.

Secretary of State George P. Shultz told Congress today that progress in the new arms negotiations with the Soviet Union required continued spending for the MX missile and the $26 billion space-defense research plan. Speaking with reporters after briefing Senate and House members separately, Mr. Shultz said he had told them, ''If the Soviets can get what they want out of us without giving up anything in return, they would love it.'' ''Our coat is off, our sleeves are rolled up, we are ready to go to work,'' Mr. Shultz said. The timing of the negotiations agreed to Tuesday in Geneva still has to be worked out, and Mr. Shultz said, ''I think it's important that these negotiations get started in good time.''

Under this heading, The Times amplifies articles or rectifies what the editors consider significant lapses of fairness, balance or perspective. An article in SportsMonday this week about the New York Rangers' disappointing season referred to a meeting a few weeks ago between Coach Herb Brooks and a player, Barry Beck.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 11, 1985 International Progress in arms negotiations with the Soviet Union requires that financing not be halted for the MX missile and the $26 billion space-defense research plan, Secretary of State George P. Shultz told Congress. Mr. Shultz said he told Senate and House members that ''if the Soviets can get what they want out of us without giving up anything in return, they would love it.'' (Page A1, Column 3.) Millions of dollars in Ethiopian aid raised by a California group through poignant television appeals may never have reached Ethiopia, Government and private fund raising specialists said. The group, International Christian Aid, said it had channeled help through a French volunteer organization called Doctors Without Borders, but the French group's director in Addis Ababa said it had not received ''one centime.'' (A1:1-2.)

Stocks soared yesterday in heavy trading after Paul A. Volcker, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, reiterated at a luncheon meeting that inflation was continuing under control. The broad advance, with rising issues outnumbering declining ones by 1,298 to 367, came after the market had been down in the morning. The rally pushed the Dow Jones industrial average up 20.76 points, to 1,223.50. That was its best one-day gain since Dec. 18, when the average jumped 34.78 points. The market barometer has gained 38.54 points in the last four sessions.