Mad Dog on the Run

Businessman Barry Gottlieb, 34, is the scourge of preppiedom. First he designed a belly-up alligator that poked fun at the celebrated reptile on Izod Lacoste shirts. Its name: the Croc O' Shirt. Unamused, Izod Lacoste sued, and Gottlieb's Mad Dog Productions (1983 sales: $300,000) agreed to withdraw its parody pullovers. Mad Dog is again on the run. The satire this time is Ralph Lauren's polo-player insignia. Gottlieb's Horse Shirt shows the rider being dragged behind the horse. Lauren sued, and Gottlieb has again promised to halt sales. Said he last week: "I was only poking a little satiric fun at the whole preppie movement. Everyone should be able to laugh." But not, in Gottlieb's case, on the way to the bank: he has now lost two of the three items his firm produces. The only one left is Silent Vigil foam-rubber wind chimes, introduced two months ago "for those who love the look but hate the sound." Silent Vigil sales to date: 2,000 toneless tintinnabulators.