Taika means ‘magic’ in Finnish and I have indeed come under the spell of these lovely owl teacups designed by Klaus Haapaniemi. Especially love the black and white one. From Iittala.com.

The last time I got really excited with sporting apparel was when Stella McCartney first collaborated with Adidas a few years back. Remember that? Who knew sportswear could look pretty apart from being functional?

A few days ago I caught the England vs Spain under-21s football match and I was completely fixated on the English national kit. The team came out in their white-on-white anthem jacket and shorts and looked really, really smart.

White embroidered logos on white, interesting collar for the drill top.

For the game, instead of the usual football jerseys we’re used to, they had on smart white polo shirts with unfussy detailing — darts at the back, clean color palette, a beautiful retro-ish three lions crest (love it!) and a super great fit, thanks to the gasp! bespoke tailoring (in this case, made to measure for each footballer).

I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on one as the new jersey looks great on non-footballers too:

To put in so much thought in the design process yet having so much restraint in the execution so that the focus in on the athlete is very a daring move. Which makes a lot of sense. Very impressive, Umbro.

Juninho Paulista, Paolo Di Canio, Peter Schmeichel in the England tees.  Looking good, traitors!  LOL

Also read: Umbro Blog

Loving these sweet dessert-inspired accessories from Key Stone Zakka.