Man, alligator shirts were always something that was just beyond the attainable for me. During the height of the
alligator shirt craze I was stuck with
cheap imitiations like
Le Tigre shirts and the like. I wasn't even cool enough to have the infamous
dead alligator shirt. I was
deprived by my parents of
modest means.
One of the most popular looks of the early 80's in suburban Virginia where I lived was a solid color aliigator shirt with a striped Oxford shirt above it with the stripes the same color. Of course the collar on the aliigator shirt was turned up and sticking out above the collar of the Oxford, and the Oxford would have the first 2-4 buttons undone so the alligator shirt could be seen below it.
One exception to the matching colors rule would be the combination of pink and green--classic preppy. You could do either shirt in either color. The bottom half would be jeans, khakis or white pants, shoes the inevitable Sebagos or penny loafers (or Sporto duck shoes if it was raining). Cover it with an Izod raincoat and you're dressed perfectly for a Loudoun County middle school.
You can still buy alligator shirts, but they're something like $50 where you can get a much nicer Lands End shirt for around $30--but no logo.