Jacci Delaneau of East Honolulu has just introduced an unusual accessory — the button brooch.

"This is a fresh new spin on an old idea (the brooch) but more fit for modern dressing, since so many of us wear nice jeans to work and also to go out to dinner," Delaneau said.

She calls her company Hip Heirlooms by Jacci. "I design for the woman who has many different fashion personalities and moods. One day you feel pretty, one day you rock an edgier look, and another day your outfit is more classic. With many different motifs, it's all about which part of you gets front and center."

Hip Heirlooms "juxtaposes what's new, hip and modern with movie star glamour and vintage," Delaneau said.

The concept: a brooch that hooks onto the button of a pair of jeans, with a little chain (playing on the gangster idea) that hooks onto the adjacent belt loop. It uses a patent pending coupling mechanism on the back that fits, and clicks, over the jeans, pants or skirt.

The item is starting to get national exposure: Hip Heirlooms were placed in celebrities' gift bags at the Emmys, and featured in Women's Wear Daily's Accessories magazine.

Delaneau has a passion for brooches, and felt she had to find a way to get brooches incorporated into her style vocabulary. She looked for ideas and prototypes of a denim-friendly brooch all over the world, including fashionable cities in Italy, Spain and England. There was nothing out there, so she decided to create her own.

A native New Yorker, Delaneau has been a model, a stylist, and worked in a Wall Street brokerage firm. She came to Honolulu about 10 years ago to attend Hawai'i Pacific University as a marine biology major. She loved the science but couldn't take the isolation of laboratory work. "I missed the world out there," she said.

She had no formal fashion background, so she decided to gather experts around her. Her product development person is a teacher at Rhode Island School of Design; the manufacturing takes place in Rhode Island. She sketches her ideas and collaborates with a former Tiffany designer to create prototypes. She has co-branded with Swarovski crystals.

The first Hip Heirlooms collection is inspired by flowers; next up is an art deco collection.

Always thinking about how to adjust and improve her hip accessories, Delaneau plans to offer a version with a longer chain from which tiny charms can be hung so the concept can be personalized.

Delaneau is using Honolulu as a test market for Hip Heirlooms. They are currently sold exclusively at Riches Kahala for $65 to $85.

For more style and fashion news, go to hawaiisfashionforum@honadvblogs.com.