Fashion Notes: The Twig Ring

I am not a jewelry person, but I just love this twig ring by Elizabeth and James ($395.00). Of the jewelry I like, I'm partial to band rings and designs inspired by nature, and I especially like the dimension the mixed metals lend the ring. But would I buy it? No, and here's why:

• It's a very cool ring, and "cool" has a shelf life of two years.
• For $395, I would expect to wear a ring for ten years, not just two.
• Were I to see a knockoff of this ring at, say, Kmart, I wouldn't buy it. It would be ugly and cheap, and I wouldn't think twice about it. Were it at Kmart and distributed by one of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's umpteen brands, though, I might be tempted to buy it just to sport it for a couple of years. I'd at least think about it.

Here's the kicker - as cool as this ring is, I think I ultimately like it because I know that Mary-Kate Olsen blessed it somewhere along the process. She may even wear it, as she does some of her other Elizabeth and James designs. Without that blessing, the ring frankly loses a good half of it's appeal. And so, I would never buy it, and yet, I still want it. Branding strikes again, and another one bites the dust.