We will be in Italy the last 2 weeks in August. In hopes of keeping our packing down I wasn't planning on brining any rain gear (coats, umbrellas). Is that a mistake?
2nd question! At home I wear my white jeans a lot. Does anyone isn Italy wear them. I know i won;t 'blend in' but I don;t want to totally stand out either.Thanks

In Rome [and I suspect in any other large town or city] at the least hint of rain the umbrella sellers come out. E5 or so. A thin hooded waterproof might come in useful, but only if it's small and light enough for you to put it in your day-bag. Otherwise, don't bother.
No-one will give a t--s [to quote another thread] about your white jeans.

If you bring the rain gear, that will be your insurance policy against rain.

We brought our mini-umbrellas but at the last minute decided to leave our light weight REI rain jackets at home. (They were actually in the suit case at one point.) Of course, we had several days of rain where we would have loved the jackets. (In early June.)

As for the white jeans, do you look absolutely terrific in white jeans? If so, consider them. (Many folks don't look all that great in white jeans, however, esp. from the rear.) I assume you already know that
nothing will show dirt and stains like white, and that denim takes forever to dry.

I will say,that at least in Rome, the minute a raindrop fell, the street vendors were out there selling the Burberry knock-off umbrellas.

why don't you go to KMart and get some lightweight ponchos - around 99 cents - and throw them in your bag? We had those and some collapsible umbrellas and when it rained for 3 days in Salzburg 2 weeks ago and in Paris for 5 days last week we were prepared (at least physically if not mentally) without lugging around a lot of extra weight.

And annhig was right - it was easy to get a 5 euro umbrella anywhere anytime, but I preferred having mine ready when we needed them.

I don't know how much it has been raining in Italy lately, but everywhere we went it was really wet.

Nothing wrong w/ white jeans per se. But are they regular weight (heavy cotton/denim) jeans. if so they will be awfully hot for August.

Light, floaty skirts and/or capris and/or walking shorts might be better choices.