發乎編輯的天性，不愛守在螢光幕前找素材，寧願沒有目的地在街上晃蕩。在上星期，晃到一家相熟的古著店，與老闆聊著聊著時，才注意到店裡的一隅，安放著這幾個毫不起眼，也無法想像用途的扣針。
「那是30、40年代時流行的男士飾品，作用在你要打上領帶時，先用扣針別在領口上，扣針會稍微抵住領帶，令整個領帶懸空起來，非常的氣派。」聽畢老闆介紹，我有點狐疑地看著扣針，因為自己從來不打領結，想像不到它能有什麼作用。這時候，我抬頭瞥見了店裡的半身模特人偶，發現它穿著的襯衫領口上，只有金銅色的扣針，惟獨沒有領帶。
「現代人非工作需要很少打領帶，即使要打也不會讓領帶懸空，因為感覺太老派了，所以有人只把扣針別在領口上，作為一個純粹的飾物。」
金銅色的、銀灰色的扣針，像小時候喜愛的動漫人物別針，別在領口上相當醒目，又像是給自己的加冕。後來我嘗試在網絡上搜資料，收獲寥寥可數，只好又打給老闆要他補充。
看來有趣的東西，往往都不會在螢光幕前，而是躲在螢光幕的背後，那些願意分享知識的人們。
Staying true to my nature as an editor, I do not like staying glued to the screen when gathering information. I would rather wander around aimlessly on the street. Last week, my aimless walk led me to an antique wear store with which I was familiar. While chatting with the owner, I noticed a few safety pins lying at a corner; they were humble in appearance and I could not figure out what they were for.
“It’s an accessory for men popular in the 1930s and 40s. By piercing it through your collars after putting on a tie, it will support the tie slightly from the back, elevating the whole tie, giving it a stylish look.” After listening to the owner’s explanation, I stared at the pin with suspicion. Since I never wear a tie myself, its uses are beyond my imagination. At this point, I raised my head and spotted the upper body mannequin at the store with a golden-copper pin attached to the collar, but without a tie.
“In modern times, people seldom wear ties except for work, and even when they do, they will not let their tie hang in the air because it looks too oldish. So some people just attach it to their collar, purely as a decoration.”
Pins in colors of golden-copper and silver-grey look like my favorite pins featuring anime characters back in my childhood years. Attaching them to the collar is not only stylish but is like a coronation to your own self. Later on I tried to look up information on the Internet, but it bore hardly any fruit. I can only make a call to the owner again, asking for more information.
It would seem you will never find interesting things on a computer screen; rather they are all hiding behind the screen, from those people who are willing to share their knowledge.
Luddite
香港銅鑼灣希雲街15A地舖 G/F
