Christmas Time Is Awesome

The folks at Umbro sent me two excellent additions to my closet. First an England away training top that featured all the workmanship and intelligent details I’ve come to expect from them lately and secondly a limited edition version of the current England kit.

Much was made of the coloured St. George’s cross pattern on the shoulders, but this one features it as a repeating, all-over pattern. As a virtual micro-print, the crosses add a lot of character to the shirt that already features an excellent henley-style collar. I’m not English and thus rarely find a reason to wear an England kit, but this may change that. It’s excellent as a standalone shirt and Umbro’s tailoring seriously kicks in again, wearing the shirt feels more like putting on a suit than a football shirt as you can feel where there’s been a nip here, a tuck there, and the whole thing feels (and you can see it in the stitching) reinforced in some areas and deliberately flexible in others. I’ve not worn a football kit like it, even going back just to Umbro’s England away kit from the World Cup.

The jacket is another winner, its a training top with hood that’s built from stiff materials presumably to hold up in poor-weather conditions. It’s firm, yet comfortable. Another victory in the tailoring department. While many sportswear manufacturers seem to be phoning in their products and skimping on the fine detials, Umbro comes through again here. The zipper on the front of the hoodie goes all the way to the mouth – usually a source of discomort – but Umbro have sewn together a little pocket right where the zipper hides when it hits the very top of the jacket that protects your mouth from scratches or ice-cold metal. Small detail, but a welcome one, and there are a lot of them all over this piece from the two-tone stitching to the mixture of materials from hood to sleeve.

Pics below…