Are these two cities "dressy" cities? I am assuming no shorts in the Sistine Chapel? Do residents of these cities wear jeans and sneakers? Any information would be helpful. Thanks

Julie, there have been previous questions like yours in this forum, and they tend to generate two schools of thought. You can do a Search here on Tacky Tourists and find the other responses. <BR>One category of opinion is, wear whatever you are comfortable in, and if that means jeans or shorts and sneakers, so be it. The other approach is show respect and not look like a tacky tourist. <BR>In places like the Sistine Chapel you are required not to wear shorts or sleeveless tops, they won't let you in dressed that way, at least that's what they say. <BR>Beyond those rules, here are my opinions: <BR>If you're 19 years old you will fit right in with your age group if you are wearing shorts,jeans, tee shirts, and sneakers. However, appearance aside, jeans are heavy and warm and if you get them wet they will take a week to dry. <BR> <BR>If you are much older than 19, yes those <BR>two cities definitely have middle-class and upper-class populations that like to be chic and well-turned out. <BR>In nice shops and restaurants and in the business districts in general you will see very nicely-dressed local people indeed. As a visitor, if you wear <BR>cotton pants or skirts, comfortable flat shoes, and a blazer or sweater if you need one, you can compromise between tourist necessity and sophisticated chic without resorting to either tackiness or discomfort. <BR>What I try to remember is, just because I am on vacation doesn't mean everyone else is, and if I want to fit in the nice places than I dress for them. <BR>Others do not feel that way. <BR>

Julie, Elaine is correct about the dress. You will probably see people dressed in a variety of ways, but the best dressed people will undoubtedly be the locals and much better than you may have imagined. These two cities are not what I would call "wear whatever you like and kickback".

Julie, <BR>St Peter's will not let people in who are wearing shorts or sleeveless tops. It is amusing to watch tourists invent sleeves and skirts out of maps, sweatshirts, etc. (I'm just glad I don't have to pin a kleenex to my hair to get in anymore.) You will see tourists in every possible get up, but I'm in the 'dress as a respectful observer of another culture' camp rather than the 'I'm paying good money to be here and will wear whatever I darned well please' camp. I haven't traveled with jeans since July 1985, when I washed a pair in a Florence hotel-room sink & waited 4 days for them to dry. <BR>

Thanks for all the good advice! Being from a laid-back city (Seattle) wasn't sure but figured I'd be save with 'nice' casual clothes. This is a great site!

<BR>Greetings, Julie, from another Seattleite. <BR>Both cities are "dressier". Wear dark, neutral clothing, even in the summer, and I think you'll feel more comfortable. I was surprised two years ago in July in Rome/Florence/Venice at how dressy eveyone was - men with long sleeve shirts/jackets slung across shoulder, women in dresses and nylons, even on the notorious mopeds! It was soooo hot, but the only ones wearing bermuda shorts were Americans. Black seems to be the color of the day in most of these countries, even last summer in Switzerland, again in July, hot -but so many people wearing black. Follow the above suggestions and do a search, there's an abundance of opinions on this subject in past posts. There have been times I've been comfortable in jeans in Europe (last August in cold, rainy Norway), but in general I bring darker, neutral colors, khaki pants, dress or skirt with different tops, and ALWAYS comfortable walking shoes. (by the way, are you enjoying this glorious day in Seattle today!!!)

Hi Julie - <BR> <BR>I'm speaking on Paris, haven't been to Italy. I agree with most of the above. Dress will depend on what "category" you are in. While we aren't 20, nor are we seniors, we brought jeans and felt fine. We stayed in the 5th (student, left bank area) so we were naturally around more casual people. In addition, we don't go out to fancy places. If you're doing that, or staying at a real nice place on the right bank, you'll want to dress up. <BR> <BR>Ditto on sticking to the dark colors. Especially black. Why not? It goes with everything and everything goes with it. I ready a thread on here last year where a girl took nothing but black for a several week trip. What the heck...she NEVER had to decide what to wear! <BR> <BR>Also, ditch the white sneakers. And not necessarily for the "ugly American" reason. They can get dirty very fast and suddenly don't look very good. I always wear black shoes and pants and add a little color with a scarf or a shirt in a muted color. <BR> <BR>I also think accessories should be black. Purse (if you take one), belt, shoes, jacket, etc. That way, you always look put together without much effort. <BR> <BR>Have a great trip!

The most important thing you can wear in my opinion is a smile on your face. <BR>What would you rather have ? someone in Versace looking down there haughty nose at you or someone in jeans giving you a smile.

sorry I meant their.