Rooster99

After reading these forums I realized that reading a long range weather forecast is no substitute for asking other travellers their thoughts.

We'll be doing a lot of walking/touring during the day, for which I'd thought nice jeans, a shirt and a casual cloth bomber-style jacket with trainers or perhaps polished casual shoes would be ok. Then for the evening, casual would be nicer jeans plus nicer shirt & either same jacket or casual sports jacket with polished casual shoes or dress shoes would be good. Evening nicer would be dress pants/shirt, nice sports jacket & dress shoes. Had not planned on a tie.

Would this work? Will I be too hot during the day? Will trainers be too casual? Will I need to bring a light or medium sweater? Rain jacket? How do people dress in nightclubs/bars?

TIA - R.

kfusto

October is a crap shoot. Last year we were in those same three cities on those same dates and the weather ranged from 45 daytime with rain in Tuscany on several days to 78 in Rome. Venice was in between.

Other years it has been toasty warm or cold and rainy as well.

My husband packs several pair of golf type slacks in fabrics that travel well and dry quickly. Casual walking shoes for day and dress shoes at night and a variety of shirts including dress shirts and turtlenecks. Neither of us wears jeans or trainers.

We both pack travel umbrella and a travel raincoat and usually I wear a lightweight leather jacket on plane and he will wear a leather sportcoat or jacket that he wears out at night.

I pack 4 pair of black slacks, a variety of tops in different sleeve lengths and weights, two pair of daytime walking shoes and a pair of dressier boots to wear in the evenings. I like twin sets and pashmina for chiller days and evenings.

The Italians in generally dress quite fashionably. IME, they definitely look nicer at dinner and in the evenings than what I see here in the states.

Seems like you are packing three types of clothing: daytime casual, evening casual and evening nicer. I would say to eliminate the middle category and go from there. If you are traveling by train, my best advice is to keep it light. We bring a 22 in carry on each plus a backpack and will be fine for a 16 night trip. We do drop off a few pieces of laundry and dry cleaning as needed to keep our packing to a minimum.

Have fun!

Tess_Durberville

I've been to Italy a couple times during October, and yes, as previous poster described, weather can be variable. Especially, since you'll be in Venice (likely to be cooler than other destinations) and Rome, which can be warmer than others.

bashamj

My husband really wished he had packed a blazer on our recent trip to Florence and Venice. He felt underdressed at dinner compared to the locals.

kfusto

<<My husband really wished he had packed a blazer on our recent trip to Florence and Venice. He felt underdressed at dinner compared to the locals.>>

I agree and my husband always brings a sport coat.

Montrealtraveller

Please, please don't wear runners. Ditto the jeans. They take up a lot of space in your suitcase and you stand out instantly as a tourist and are more vulnerable to pickpockets, etc. Jeans are heavy and slow to dry if they become wet. A sports jacket or blazer would serve as a coat and with a pullover sweater underneath will take the chill off in the evenings. Khakis look smarter and are comfortable but the aforementioned golf pants are also a good idea.

We will never pass for locals (even my Italian husband sometimes betrays the fact he no longer lives there) but we can blend in.

Buon Viaggio!

nytraveler

Euroepeans do tend to dress more formally - ep in cities.

You can wear jeans - and if you really want, sneakers,, during the day - although I don;t understand what's wrong with walking shoes.

For restaurants and/or clubs you will be much happier with a blazer or jacket (and will need some sort of jacket anyway) as well as real shoes.

I don;t know what your casual versus "better" jeans look like - but I would bag the casual ones and go with decent jeans plus some real pants, a pair of shoes and jacket. (IMHO casual jeans sounds like baggy, ratty and ready for cleaning out the garage - not a good look in style conscious Italy.)

adventureseeker

Rooster99,

We did (in this order): Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre and Tuscany last year from October 10-29, 2008.

It was seasonably nice in all locations except for a <b>very chilly cold snap</b> in Tuscany (Oct. 20-27).

Dressing in layers was key. I brought Pashmina wraps and cardigan twin sets which were stylish yet functional. DH brought a medium weight jacket. Mostly he wore nicer jeans or black slacks (Docker style) with a long sleeve stylish button down shirt for nice dinners out/nightclubs. No ties/dinner jacket would be necessary <u>unless</u> you are dining at a restaurant which requires jacket and tie. He also packed a light windbreaker which came in handy and doesn't take up much space.

You may view my l-o-n-g very detailed trip report that lists clothing we packed (as well as discussions from other posters on this same subject).

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35116654

Ciao!

suze

You most certainly can wear jeans and trainers touring around during the day in Italy. Plenty of Europeans dress exactly like that.

I think you're on the right track with your list. I would add a sweater too in case it's too warm for bomber jacket by day.

What the heck toss in the tie, I mean how much room does it take in the suitcase -lol!

pantelia

I was part of a group of six in Oct 2006. We were in Rome, Tuscany and a day in Venice.

For the ladies in the group, there was a combination of jeans, khaki type slacks and broom skirts. Tops varied from twinsets to nice cotton tees to long sleeved blouses.

I think we all had sneakers (the horror!), dressy sandals and casual walking shoes.

Never once did I feel as though I stuck out as a tourist when in jeans, as many of the locals were in jeans as well.

The weather varied from warm in Rome and Florence on a few days, to rainy and cool in Venice, and around the villa, cool in the mornings, comfortable in the afternoons back to cool as the sun set. (We are all Floridians if that helps with the 'cool' and 'warm' statements!).

We all had lights jackets (I think mostly leather) and travel umbrellas.

My advice is pack what you're comfortable in. I wouldn't dream of packing something that I'm not used to wearing, only to be uncomfortable while on vacation.

Layers are key. I remember one day when we were schlepping around Florence, I started in jeans and a twinset with a long sleeved top layer, as well as my leather jacket, by mid-morning, the jacket was tucked into the strap of my bag, same for my top layer of the twinset by mid-afternoon. The layers went back on as the sun went down.

As for the nightclub/bars, we only went to one, in Florence, with a local, and he (the local) was in jeans, as were many of the other locals there. I can't remember what everyone in our group was wearing, but I know that I had on nice jeans, with a dressy long sleeved blouse and dressy sandals with a heel. The one man in our group had on nice jeans, a dressy long sleeved shirt (no tie) and casual to dressy shoes. The local we were with was in jeans and a t-shirt, with dressy type loafers.


Enjoy your trip!!

laartista

I'll pipe in for Florence after living here for almost 2 months. It is a really casual city dress wise and that includes Italians and Europeans as a whole. Jeans, jeans and more jeans even in the evening and on ALL ages. Lots of layers, on men and women. Flat boots are huge or any boots for that matter.Also ballet flats and many wear them with socks with their jeans. As far as the tennis shoes go, EVERYONE (again all ages) wears them in all colors including white AND including at night. Lots of leather FITTED jackets, scarfs and knit wraps.Long sweater coats are huge. Honestly most of the people not in jeans are the tourists.

Weather has turned and has been high 40s to mid 50's at night, cool at dusk, most days sunny but has been windy. Definitely bring a small umbrella they say rainy season is on it's way.

janschwartz

We visited precisely these three cities last October and were very comfortable. Husband and wife had casual to dressy slacks with same style walking shoes. I wore comfortable sandals with a slight heel that went well with a more dressy outfit. We each had a light jacket or a sweater which we wore in the mornings and evenings, and did not need during the day. We had mid-length to long sleeved shirts and blouses and that was it! No need for dresses or skirts unless you are more comfortable in them. We did not have sneakers and did not miss them