I’m traveling thru-out Italy Sept of this year and I would love to blend in with the locals. I have some nice clothes, but I also would like to wear nice shorts and pull over short sleeve shirts during the day. So, what type of shoe beside sneakers is proper to wear?

What few essentials should I pack and not pack?

Thank you,
Scotty13

I think you'll find that despite the hottest of days most men will not be wearing shorts. Notice I didn't say ALL men, just most men.

In terms of blending in...despite what you may hear there will be many men wearing some sort of athletic shoe or what many of us would CONSIDER to be an athletic shoe of sorts...think Puma thin soles for example. You'll see a lot of younger folks in denim; you'll see a lot of "European style" shoes..dress shoes, that is, on men.

I would not be so worried about "blending in" because don;t forget that not every visitor in Italy is going to be from the US and all those people from other countries are "tourists" just as you are.

If you are worried about blending in why don't you just take a half filled suitcase with some bare essentials and then go to any major department store and buy some local fashions. Of course this costs a bit of $$$ but if 'blending in' with the locals is a major concern for you it's covered. Besides when you get back to the States everyone will be envious of your new wardrobe!

Thanks Dukey. I’m not going to be wear tennis shoes, so what kind of comfortable shoe should I wear during the day?

Ecco's, Clarks (I like a slip-on pair from their Unstructured line), Mephisto. They have many shoes that are comfortable like a tennis shoe but look a bit nicer. They're not nice enough to pair with a suit, of course.

Where can a person like me with a size 12AA find a nice pair of Italian shoes?

It's also a bit of an age issue..

For the 30-50 age group I'd recommend:

Sneakers/ tennis shoes are quite fashionable if you stop thinking chunky Nike AirShock or similar - as Dukey said.
Add nice fitting jeans, either the good ole 501 or the slightly! shredded ones that cost twice as much, and a pair of "non-jeans" long pants if you want.
Polo shirts in a decent, not screaming colors. A designer logo does not hurt.
Messenger bag instead of bag pack. No chunky camera equipment.
It does not hurt if the most expensive part of your wardrobe are your sunglasses.
No baseball cap.
Good haircut.
No beer belly (no personal insult intended).

P.S. And unless your Italian is flawless, I wouldn't take this issue too seriously

Arthur - I bought a nice pair of Fratelli Rossetti shoes when I was in Italy a few years back, and they are still the most comfortable shoes I own. The Rossetti One's have a softer sole which is fantastic for lots of walking and are fantastic shoes. They have stores in a lot of major cities, and luckily enough for me, they have a store in Dubai, which I frequent often since buying my first pair. I now own 4 different pairs, and all are of top quality and all are tops in comfort. They are a bit pricey, but a nice leather dress shoe that is comfortable are invaluable to me.

I also think that zappos sells previous years shoes online if you wanted to look at them.

Scotty - I'll be there around the same time, and usually go in September.

Lightweight black dress pants or grey work great. Linen pants are great due to the warmer weather and are just as comfortable (maybe even more) than shorts are IMO. I usually just wear buttoned down shirts and for nicer events/dinners I throw on a lightweight blazer. I take a couple of ties, and a couple of pairs of shoes - as the ties can easily pack in my shoes, and having a 2nd or 3rd pair of shoes is great if your doing lots of walking. Your feet will appreciate the change from shoe to shoe every couple of days.

That is how I normally dress anyways, but can say that I never felt like I've "stuck out" when I was in Italy.

Find out what "this year's" colors are... I was there last October and every Italian man was wearing a shirt and/or sweater (tied around the neck) in some shade of purple. Most were a light lavender... who would have thought!