This season Mad Men released its second collection for the loved Banana Republic chain. To say we’re fans of the show and their previous collection of course would be true, but what caught our attention the most this time was the jewelry! With the spring upon us and summer here before we know it, the release of this collection was the perfect opportunity to start enhancing our costume jewelry collection.

What makes this collection better than other “by this person, for this store” collections is the uniqueness of the line. Not only is the clothing immaculate and stunning, but each jewelry piece has character. Many greats have quoted what separates fashion from style and this collection depicted that with ease. With amazing price points on the jewelry—just listing  between $35 – $98.00—excitement ensued that the pieces wouldn’t hurt our wallets; but we were glad they would “look” like they did.

It’s evident that 60s fashion is not an ideal of the past but more so a move into the future. As brands continue to pull from past inspirations, we can’t help but marvel at the classic but contemporary relevance of this collection. Emmy winner and costume designer for the show, Janie Bryant, created a timeless accessories collection of cocktail rings, gold-plated necklaces, bouquet drop earrings, and pearl clutches, enriched with quality materials and obvious creativity infused into each and every piece.  It was kind of like snooping in your mom’s amazing vintage closet and coming up with gold each time.

As with every collection, one has to wonder whether a mad dash (pun intended) should be made for this collection. We’ve witnessed many instances where amazing designers have done amazing collections for mass retailer outlets only to find that we have to fight the next girl for the last item, or worse, that the collection is sold out in minutes, later finding ourselves disappointed and left out because we didn’t snag at least one piece from that collection. Yes, the Mad Men collection is a part of the craze for fast fashion, but upon closely examining the pieces, it is well worth the investment of your time and money. Well, yes, because at the end of the day, you’ll have an amazing piece of jewelry from a timeless collection, one that will make you look and feel like you stepped into another time period entirely. And who doesn’t love to play dress up?