Countess Mara

[1] Following Whitman's suicide in 1932, she travelled through Europe, purchasing fabrics that she brought back to New York with the intention of launching a career making men's ties.

While Mara was her second name, the company name might have been inspired by an 18th-century Kneller portrait of the Countess de Mar wearing a loosely tied Steinkirk cravat.

[5] However, her ties also featured a wide range of other subjects, including astrological signs, Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Devil, Lady Godiva, torn love-letters and safety pins.

[6] The Countess Mara brand was purchased in March 1998 by Randa Accessories, a major manufacturer and distributor of men's neckwear.

[7] Countess Mara belts, leather goods, neckwear, shirts, sportswear, and other products and accessories are retailed worldwide.

A white woman with dark marcelled hair, seated, wearing a dress with a print bodice; her hands and clasped together in front of her chest
Lucilla de Vescovi, from a 1923 publication