The waterfront Hamptons home of the late fashion branding and licensing mogul Ruth McCarthy Manton is on the market for $3.99 million — down from its $4.25 million ask.

Despite her ties to the fashion industry, McCarthy Manton, who died in late 2020 at age 95, got her start as a journalist in 1945, and by 1949 had become foreign correspondent based in Cuba.

She later became the publisher and editor-in-chief of the Havana Herald before fleeing Castro’s Cuba more than a decade later, then got involved in the fashion world during jobs at Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue.

Later, she started Aries Design Management to connect designers with manufacturers — and became known for her dealings with names including Oscar de la Renta and Isaac Mizrahi.

The Water Mill home at 230 Mill Pond Lane is 3,700 square feet.

It comes with four bedrooms, three full bathrooms and a half bath.

It all sits on 0.94 acres — and the grounds include a pool surrounded by a planted patio, plus a blue stone dining area.

Inside, there’s a large living room with a fireplace and vaulted ceilings, a sun room with custom built-ins and another fireplace, along with a chef’s kitchen with a dining area.

The main bedroom suite boasts a sitting area/home office.

There’s also an adjacent 0.45 acre lot; combined, that totals 252 feet of pond front property with a dock. 

The listing broker is Douglas Elliman’s Marco (Aaron) Curti.