Douglas Booth as Anthony Marston in And Then There Were None (2015)
Vitals
Douglas Booth as Anthony Marston, irresponsible socialite
Devon, England, August 1939
Series Title: And Then There Were None
Air Date: December 26-28, 2015
Director: Craig Viveiros
Costume Designer: Lindsay Pugh
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
A recent rewatch of the 2015 BBC One series And Then There Were None brought to mind the exquisite parade of interesting menswear designed by Lindsay Pugh for the half-dozen gents summoned to the mysterious Soldier Island off the coast of Devon. The series is set during a late summer weekend in August 1939 on the brink of World War II, a specter that hauntingly looms over the darkly faithful series which is the first English-language adaptation to restore Agatha Christie’s original ending.
The story centers around ten strangers—eight guests and a married couple to serve as their staff—invited to the island by the enigmatic U.N. Owen, whom it is quickly established none of the ten have ever met… nor will they meet him, as their unknown host only makes his presence known by a recording accusing each of the ten of murder. All but two of the attendees respond with horrified denials, with the roguish adventurer Philip Lombard (Aidan Turner) and brash socialite Anthony Marston (Douglas Booth) being the only two to instantly own up to their past crimes.
Given the nature of the charges levied against him, it’s no surprise that both the book and series introduce us to Marston while recklessly speeding his sports car through Devon, nearly running fellow guest Dr. Armstrong off the road. Marston’s haste makes him among the first guests to arrive at Soldier Island—renamed from the book’s “Indian Island”—though he’s also granted the incongruous honor of being the first to die, grotesquely poisoned with cyanide in his drink after admitting his guilt in the hit-and-run deaths of two children years earlier.
What’d He Wear?
Described by the pearl-clutching spinster Emily Brent (Miranda Richardson) as “a debauched, restless young man,” Anthony Marston signals his youthful disdain by sartorial decorum by dressing down for a summer holiday weekend, unlike the rest of the men in his group who all arrive at Soldier Island in tailored jackets and ties.
The first to arrive, Marston greets the rest of the guests while sporting a pale-pink terrycloth pullover sport shirt. Casual sportswear grew increasingly popular during the interwar era as transportation technology evolved to make it easier for tourists to travel to warmer vacation destinations. A favorite toweling fabric due to its moisture-absorbing loops, terrycloth cotton was also employed for leisurewear—especially on garments to be worn after swimming or bathing.
Marston’s short-sleeved pullover shirt follows the structure of the tennis shirts pioneered by French pro René Lacoste during the 1920s (a style often marketed today as “polo shirts”), albeit styled with a rakish V-neck “Johnny collar” with a loop button to close the neck, if desired.
Costume designer Lindsay Pugh noted in the behind-the-scenes documentary And Then There Was Something that some of the actors were confused “because ’30s fashion was absolutely high-waist… but men have no idea where their waists are nowadays so they get very stressed about this,” but Douglas Booth confirmed that “to be honest, I think it’s quite comfortable. I mean, the trousers are quite cinched in the waist, which is a little tight after lunch.”
Marston’s trousers are woven in a two-toned gray herringbone wool, styled in the fashionable configuration of double reverse-facing pleats and turn-ups (cuffs) as well as straight side pockets and jetted back pockets. He holds them up with a brown woven leather belt that closes through a curved brass-toned single-prong buckle and coordinates to his shoes. Worn with navy ribbed socks, these wingtip oxford brogues are crafted with taupe-brown leather uppers and five-eyelet lacing.
Marston’s Irvin flying jacket seems appropriate as he flies through Devon’s winding country roads in his Jensen roadster. These hardy sheepskin flight jackets were developed in the early 1930s by parachute pioneer Leslie Leroy Irvin and eventually issued to Royal Air Force flight crews during World War II.
Initially intended solely to keep pilots warm in the cramped cockpits of their poorly insulated aircraft, Irvin flying jackets were made from the highest quality sheepskin to keep them light-wearing while taking advantage of the insular properties of the thick natural wool. The outer shell presents a dark-brown tanned leather while the beige natural woolen fleece shows on the broad collar, revers, and out the edges of the cuffs and waist hem. For additional warmth, the broad collar could be turned up against the neck and fastened with a belted strap extending down from the left side. These jackets lacked pockets and featured a full leather self-belt around the waist.
Though Marston is arguably not a military pilot, he wears the RAF’s contemporary Irvin flying jacket to keep warm while speeding in his open-top car while also affecting a more daredevil look appropriate for his reckless personality and lifestyle.
Marston’s orange tortoiseshell round-framed sunglasses befit his cosmopolitan image, as stylish sun-blocking eyewear was increasingly en vogue during the 1930s. Though forms of sunglasses had been worn for centuries, modern sunglasses emerged early in the 20th century to serve the practical needs of pilots, motorists, and actors blocking out the bright lights of Hollywood’s early stages. The latter group had a particular impact on increasing the fashionable appeal of sunglasses, which Brad Lanphear reports for Heddels were first mass-produced and sold by Sam Foster via a Woolworth’s on the Atlantic City boardwalk in 1929.
Even though he only survives for the first night on Soldier Island, Marston cycles through two wristwatches. The first watch, worn for the guests’ arrival, has a stainless tank-style case with curved sides and a smooth dark-brown leather strap. The yellowed rectangular dial has gold Arabic numeral hour indices. He later changes it out for a yellow-gold rectangular watch on a matching link bracelet for dinner.
On his right pinky, he wears a gold ring with a recessed green stone.
Bumpin’ that, bumpin’ that, bumpin’ that…
What to Imbibe
In addition to introducing other intoxicating substances to his palette (see above screenshot), the 2015 series continues Anthony Marston’s love for gin from the novel, where he—in tragically characteristic fashion—stops off for “a gin and gingerbeer” at a local hotel before driving the last hundred miles to catch the boat to Indian Island.
Upon meeting the others in the 2015 series, Marston orders “a stiff G&T” from Rogers, which may have been featured in footage cut from the final production as the promotional photos at the top and bottom of this post depict Marston with a rocks glass full of clear liquid and the lime which typically accompanies a classic gin-and-tonic.
After dressing for dinner, Marston walks in on Lombard and Vera Claythorne (Maeve Dermody) in the drawing room, where he requests the latter prepare him “a pink gin… pink as a virgin’s blush.” Pink gin enjoys a long association with the British Royal Navy, dating to the early 19th century when Angostura bitters were recommended to treat sea sickness. To make their intake more enjoyable, seamen would add a dash of bitters to Plymouth gin—a sweeter alternative to London dry gin.
Vera evidently went heavy on the bitters for Marston’s pink gin.
While some drinkers prefer their pink gin to just be gin poured over bitters (and sometimes with the bitters swirled in the glass and poured out first), a typical modern presentation for pink gin involves coating the inside of a chilled glass with Angostura bitters, pouring in equal parts gin and water—either chilled or over ice—and garnished with lemon rind.
Given Marston’s pair of gin-centered orders in And Then There Were None, I’d recommend pairing your next watch with a Pink Gin and Tonic, an alternative to both cocktails that includes four dashes of Angostura bitters in a highball glass, which is then filled with ice, followed by two shots of Plymouth gin and topped with tonic water and the usual lemon garnish.
The Car
The “enormous Super Sports Dalmain” described in the novel is represented on screen by a white 1938 Jensen S-Type 3½ Litre Dual Cowl Tourer. “I honestly can’t imagine loving a person as much as I worship and adore the Jenson,” he explains to his fellow guests when describing the circumstances around the deaths of two children he had hit while driving drunk the previous year.
Jensen Motors emerged in 1934 when brothers Alan and Richard Jensen purchased a controlling interest in automaker W.J. Smith & Sons Limited following the death of its eponymous founder. After renaming the company after themselves, the brothers Jensen began designing their first production car as the “White Lady”, a grand dual-cowl prototype that evolved into the Jensen S-Type by the time it entered production for the 1936 model year. (Never actually used to market the car, the “S-Type” moniker is a posthumous reference to the the chassis numbers beginning with the letter S.)
The S-Type was built on a steel chassis with aluminum body panels in a trio of available configurations: a two-door “drophead” convertible, three-door tourer, and four-door saloon. Drivers could choose between the two available Ford “flathead” V8 engines—a 2.2-liter and a 3.6-liter—both equipped with two downdraft carburetors and a dual-ratio Columbia overdrive rear axle that provided six forward gears.
Jensen built approximately fifty S-Types in its West Bromwich factory throughout the 1936 to 1941 production timeline. Powered by the “3½ Litre” flathead V8 which generated 120 horsepower, the screen-used 1938 Jensen featured in And Then There Were None is one of only eight open-top three-door tourers made. The registration “CAC 41” aligns with chassis no. S34/7354, rented fro the production from UK car storage and hire company Studio 434.
How to Get the Look
Douglas Booth as Anthony Marston in And Then There Were None (2015)
As terrycloth menswear and high-waisted trousers enjoy a revival, Douglas Booth’s trim casual wardrobe as the fashionable yet brash Anthony Marston would be just as contemporary today as in the late 1930s summer weekend depicted in And Then There Were None.
- Pale-pink terrycloth toweling cotton short-sleeved pullover shirt with V-neck “Johnny collar” and loop button
- Gray herringbone wool double reverse-pleated trousers with belt loops, side pockets, jetted back pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
- Brown woven leather belt with curved brass single-prong buckle
- Light-brown leather full-brogue wingtip 5-eyelet oxford shoes
- Navy-blue ribbed socks
- Brown sheepskin leather Irvin flying jacket with beige natural wool fleece collar/lining, zip-back sleeves, and full self-belted waist
- Orange tortoiseshell round-framed sunglasses
- Gold pinky ring with recessed green stone
- Stainless curved-case tank-style dress watch with yellowed rectangular dial and dark-brown smooth leather strap
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the series and Agatha Christie’s 1939 novel.
The post And Then There Were None (2015): Anthony Marston’s Pink Terry Shirt appeared first on BAMF Style.