If you asked, I imagine it is because you do not want to stick out like a sore thumb and feel unconfortable in anyway. It is your special trip and nothing should ruin it. If that is correct, then my advise is leave the shorts and tennis shoes at home, there are alternatives which will be just as confortable. But whatever you decide just make sure you have a great time. Enjoy! ; )

My family and I were renting a villa in Umbria, one of our guests arrived for a few days and immediately put on her shorts which reached halfway up her thigh, she is in her late 60's and doesn't have bad legs for a woman her age. You should have seen the looks she got in the towns we went to! Locals, middleaged and up, did not hide the fact that shorts at her age were comical or just plain bad manners.
She said that is was too bad for them and that she will never see them again so she kept on wearing them, in her own british way, and she did.

I had to ask her to put on long pants for nicer restaurants in the evening.

Then her British husband, in his sixties, joined us for a few more days and he put on his shorts too.

I had to ask him to wear long pants into restuarants in the evening too.

I came out like the fashion police and I think they both resented it, but I just could not bear it any longer.

Oh nocinonut, you have my complete sympathy! When we were in Umbria, my British brother- and sister-in-law joined us, and I was taken aback at how unbending they were in regard to adapting to their surroundings. Whatever they did in Reading (UK), they did in Umbria, whether it be wearing dowdy clothing instead of dressing up a bit, ordering cappucino at 11 pm, asking for a full English breakfast instead of simple pastries, etc. They didn't see the need to follow "when in Rome, do as the Romans do." They followed the premise that as paying customers and tourists, everyone should cater to their wishes, not the other way around. Mind you, they are decent, well-mannered people, but culturally aware they weren't! I may get solidly trounced for saying this, but I don't think it was so much them as much as it is the British philosophy, and they were just being British.

dln, just curious, were they able to get the cappucino and the full English breakfast?

Sometimes I ask for those same things. The waiters don't act offended by me asking for it and usually produce the goods. If they can't, then I order something else without making a big fuss. Good business sense often seems to over-ride local custom.

Hi, Degas. Of course they were able to get their cappucino and eggs. As I said, they're nice people. I was more surprised by the attitude that it was completely unnessary to find out what local customs are. After a summer of sucking up any and all information I could about Italy from this site, I was convinced that ALL tourists were sensitive, savvy, and aware about what ruled in their destination country. I was really shocked to see that my BIL and SIL had an entirely different agenda!

dln, I think your in-laws came back and stayed with us in Umbria!
That was some of what they did exactly.
The seemed to have no concept that they were in a different culture and wanted Britain transported to Italy for them.

One other thing they did was to talk full speed in English to someone who obviously could not follow the language. They would just speak louder and then become amazed that the person still could not understand them, and they made no attempt to learn one word in Italian.

Their famous line that we remember was "the Italian food is better in Covent Garden" than in Italy.

And they are lovely people too, go figure. I would have thought they would be more knowledgeable about European Ways then we were.

A quotation from the diary of Francis Kilvert entered on April 5, 1870.

"Of all noxious animals, too, rhe most moxious is a tourist. And of all tourists the most vulgar, ill-bred, offensive and loathsome is the British tourist."

Especially for dln, this quote from Peter Fleming:

"Sal Paulo is like Reading, only much further away."

How about monkeys? You know Danny has a strange obsession about monkeys. And kielbasa.

I think it dependa where you live in Britain as to how you adapt, just as there are shorts(OMG!) and below the knee ones that guys wear. But most grown men in ANY country, should know when to wear long pants....my sympathy, dln.

I rarely wear shorts anywhere, I think dresses are much cooler and more comfortable. Comfort often times comes from blending in from blending in just a little bit. Of course, it's often difficult to hide what country you come from and I don't think anyone needs to go that far. That said, I live in Southern California and today saw Chinese couple clad in pajamas at a restaurant. Although, I didn't think it was very nice of a group of teenage girls to laugh at them but I couldn't help getting the giggles when one suggested offering them a teddy bear.
Once you are over the age where a purple mohawk might be a fashion option, blending in a bit is a good thing.

Mcgeezer, I live adjacent to Monterey Park and see people out and about in pajamas all the time, so to blend in here you should wear your pj's (with slippers), lol.

Well, I'm English and in my sixties and the old legs aren't that bad but I would never wear shorts in public.
The wretched things are now worn by many people in this country who should know better.
I might wear them in the back garden but would certainly put a skirt on top if I had to go to the front of the house.
My rules would be : Shorts to be worn on the beach or tennis court only.
If possible they should be worn only by those under 30 in years and waist measurement.

nocinonut,
Thanks for the tip. I'm making a note: pj's, slippers, possibly a robe? Guess, t-shirt, tights and ugs won't work. Darn, now I'll have to go shopping.

McG, skip the robe, you will then be over the top. It is the recently arrived and elderly Asians who wear the pajama like outfits around town, for those of you who don't know what we are referring to.
So if a European visitor came to my neck of the woods, he would go home and report that Americans wear pajamas when they go out.

I'm confused about the PJ's bit. Are you talking about silk garments worn by some Asians? I keep imagining cotton flannels and thinking no way!

Degas. I can't help you with what the older folks wear, but my 15 year old daughter and her friends wear what looks like pj bottoms to me all the time. Drawstring waists with lightweight teeshirt jersey material, or lightweight polartek material. I think they sooner go without than be caught dead in FLANNEL.

Yes, not flannel, but cotton with the cut of pj's, worn with cotton slipon slippers. I am used to it, but a tourist or someone from outside of town would be surprised probably. Tourists do come here for our authentic Asian food and supplies though. Hey, this is LA, we are diverse!

The kind the teens wear are drawstring pants with the tshirts like just dln said.

I don't want to give the impression that that many people wear the PJ's
around here, you just see some people every day, but then again I go to the Asian stores, etc., so I wouldn't giggle at them.