Randa is a manufacturer and distributor of accessories for men, women and children. While the Randa company was founded over 70 years ago, with its beginnings rooted as a neckwear company, today it also markets luggage, casual bags, business cases, belts, wallets, neckties, and gifts, selling branded products through retailers worldwide. One of their licensed and proprietary brands is the Countess Mara line of men’s ties. Countess Mara is a division of “Randa Accessories”, whose main website is listed as Randa.net. Randa’s two Countess Mara websites are CountessMara.com and SaveTheGentleman.com.

The CountessMara.com Website

Countess Mara.com is not a sales but an informational site, stark in color yet visually striking. Black is the dominant color with touches of yellow, white and gray. The five categories are Home, The Essence, The Heritage, The Collection, and Contact.

The homepage pays proper tribute to the logo, which is synonymous with the legendary necktie female designer, formally known as Lucille Mara de Vescovi, who in 1938 created her very own line of men’s neckties. All of her ties were distinguished by and branded with a nine-pronged coronet below which the CM logo was either printed or machine stitched onto the front of the tie. Today the coronet is neatly incorporated in three places on the website home page: The background is an understated cross hatch allover pattern in black and dark gray tones, with cornets found at every intersecting line of the design. The center box is lined in yellow and white. Randa has retained the original cornet but has dropped the CM initials, using instead the full “Countess Mara” name located just under the crown. The top left corner of the site displays this new branded look. The center of the box repeats the logo along with the sales copy “Be a gentleman”, this presumably to hark back to the early days of Countess Mara ties during the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, when a gentleman wore a tie to work, at social events, even to picnics. A photograph of five purple toned ties tastefully folded onto one another is just to the right of the logo. Standard foulard patterns represented include hounds tooth, paisley, striped and diamond allover designs.

The modern Countess Mara tie no longer bears the logo prominently located near the front tip of the tie like the vintage Countess Mara mens ties do. Instead the trademark coronet is woven in a variety of solid colors near the end of the back flap (thin end of the tie). While today’s Countess Mara ties retain the lovely sheen of a well made silk tie, they have become a bit of a jelly bean in the wide world of men’s ties, with only the owner of the tie privy to the now hidden labeling.

“The Essence” section of the site reflects the company’s new vision of Countess Mara ties. In essence, the copy reads, “Some care about the spotted owl. Other’s about dolphins. Countess Mara is 100% committed to the gentleman…from low profile to high roller…what he wears… his shirt, belt, suspenders and of course his ties…the ordinary into the dignified…wear Countess Mara and the gentleman comes through.” Just below is a link to their other website SaveTheGentleman.com, so there is most probably a “tie” in, every pun intended!

“The Heritage” section makes brief mention of the namesake Countess Mara, the granddaughter of a real life Hungarian countess, who founded her company over 70 years ago, but unfortunately, misspells the designer’s surname as Viscovi instead of Vescovi! Suffice it to say, Countess Mara would have been none too pleased with this spelling error!

The forth section describes The Collection in short, which currently includes Countess Mara neckties, belts, leather goods, shirts, sportswear and other fine products which, according to site, bespeak luxury, power, sophistication, culture, refinement, opulence and confidence.

The Randa showroom is located at 24 West 40^th St., 6^th Floor, New York, NY 10018, whose staff can be reached at (212) 769-8800.

The SaveTheGentleman.com Website

And what about SaveThe Gentleman.com? This site is dedicated to helping a person find a store near them which carries the Countess Mara line of accessories. All one has to do is type in their zip code for a select list of retailers nationwide. They can be found at Macy’s, Bon-Ton, and Belk, among others. The site is also committed to “saving” the gentleman, who is likened to the spotted owl and other endangered species. Because the tie is believed to transform an ordinary man into a dignified gentleman, their belief is that without a tie a man ceases to be a gentleman, and by wearing a Countess Mara tie the gentleman shines through. They are attempting to sell the consumer on the idea that the gentleman is on the brink of extinction, and one must act quickly by purchasing Countess Mara ties in order to save the “noble breed”! In fact, the copy for their March 2008 which was run in the New York Times read, “Clothes Make the Man. Countess Mara makes the Gentleman”. Their Father’s Day June 2008 ad in Esquire was even more succinct and to the point: “Husband. Father. Gentleman”.

The site offers a $10 rebate which has already expired as well as a newsletter and tips on how to save the gentleman. Personally I think the gentleman is alive and well and has evolved in new and exciting ways, a man for whom mens designer neckties continue to play an important role for a clean, classic and sophisticated look.

Post Script

For anyone interested in vintage neckties, a wide assortment can be found by searching online for "vintage Countess Mara ties".

The Randa Company Continues the Countess Mara Necktie Legacy by strangelittlebird is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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