Hogwash. Dress for your comfort and the weather. Wear your tennis whites if you wish. Nobody cares.

I just got back from Italy yesterday... We were in Tuscany and Rome. I had convinced my fiance not to bring shorts at all. While we were there we saw tons of Italian men in shorts, TONS. Michael gave me a dirty look everytime. Girls wore shorts a lot too. The difference though was that all the shorts were "nice" shorts - not ripped up jeans. I think you'd be perfectly fine wearing shorts and wouldn't get one weird look. Mike is never going to listen to me again regarding what to pack

You have to cover your knees and shoulders in churches. If you don't plan on going into churches then you can wear whatever you want. No one will care as you will note if you read one or two of the thousands of threads here on "what to wear." All threads say the same thing.

As to shorts and sandals - what will you wear if the weather turns cold and damp on the coast? Sandals are tough on gravel and uneven pavement. If cold and getting your feet dirty and gravely don't bother you then you have no problem. Wear whatever you want.

I will repeat the advice to wear whatever you want. You are likely to be governed more by the weather than by the fashion police. We were on the Amalfi Coast and Capri the first week of October last year and, while it was sunny and mild on Capri, we had a couple of days of chilly rain on the Amalfi Coast. Take shorts but also take slacks for wet and chilly weather and for visiting churches.

I'm just back from Italy too and Italians wear jeans, shorts, flipflops, tennis shoes. They guys tend to wear a more fitted short to the knee (yes, even in Rome). It's rare to see Italians not in jeans (tight/slim/fitted legs)these days unless they are on their way to work in an office.

Each year when I go to Italy, I see more and more jeans and shorts on all cultures. Every time I would see someone dressed as what is stated on this forum as typical American (jeans/shorts/tennis shoes/khakis), they were not speaking English and not American.

For October, I wouldn't take many shorts as it might be quite cool on the coast by then.

Well that does it then, dress for comfort but have common sense what to wear when in church or out for a fine dinner !
Positano in 16 days !!

Adrienne, sturdy walking sandals are just as good on rough surfaces as closed shoes. If the gravel is small, it might present a problem.

We've been very lucky with weather there on two trips in late October.

I've worn sandals everywhere on the Amalfi Coast in October. The sandals I wore in town were meant more for walking than fashion (Ecco, Clarks), and I wore trekking-type sandals (Teva) on the Path of the Gods.

And my husband has worn shorts on the AC in October. Actually, he likes those pants that convert from long pants to shorts by zipping off the lower pant legs, and he has a pair that don't look too geeky. I prefer cropped pants that cover my knees, but if I was younger I'd wear shorts.