sneakers and shorts in Italy
 

Are these appropriate? In cities? In countryside?
Thank you

You can live in golf shirts, Dockers and sneakers almost anywhere in Italy summers, but not so sure shorts wouldn't scream "TOURIST".

Hi rw,

If you are hiking in the country or if it is very hot, they are appropriate.

Italians do dress more formally than Americans. I ssuggesst that you not wear shorts in churches or restaurants that have tablecloths.

Depends on the shorts!! (seriously)

For women, I sometimes wear knee-length print-fabric loose-fitting shorts that look almost like a skirt, with nice sandals.

For men, longer neat pleated/cuffed chino styled walking shorts with deck shoes.

Probably better to avoid short/shorts unless you are under 20, female & very good looking!

We just returned from Italy and I wish I had brought more dresses. I would have been embarassed to wear shorts in Rome, but did wear them once or twice in Florence and Venice. However, I NEVER wore sneakers, except to hike the Cinque Terre. I didn't see many men in sneakers either. If it matters, I am mid-40's and live in shorts and sneakers back home.

Sneakers + shorts = Tourist (target) Hush Puppies has a shoe called Mall Walker. Looks like a dress shoe, feels like a sneaker. Worth the investment if you're going anywhere in Europe.

Somehow I suppose if someone spots you hanging around the major "tourist" sites such as the Parthenon, etc., they'll assume you are a "tourist" regardless of what you have on. If you're wearing something inappropriate for the weather and say, sweltering in the heat, they'll definitely KNOW you're not from there.
But you won't be the ONLY tourists there...people seem to think that the only tourists that show up in these places are from the US. When you get a load of some of the other clothing people are wearing you won't have any more problems about "fitting in."
If you know what you look good in here then you'll look good in it there.
People who try not to look like a tourist seem to end up looking MORE like one than everyone else.

Just got back from Rome. It was very hot and several people wore shorts and sneakers. I wore capri pants or a skirt. Of course everywhere we went of course it was all tourist. No matter what we would wear the maps, camera, bottled water and the looks on our faces "scream tourist" :)

Oh and I forgot the big backpack on my husbands back.

I fall into the camp that you wear whatever you're most comfortable in. Who cares how you're dressed (shorts? dress? tennis shoes? flip-flops?). No one will comment - certainly not the Italians! You can spot Americans by their white sox. Otherwise, I met lots of people from other countries that had on more or less what I took on my trip. I think I'm in the minority in this view of the people who post on this website but according to the throngs of people I saw everyday wearing the items you've asked about, I don't think I'm in the minority of people who travel to Italy.

If you want to get in the door of any cathedral you must be covered to the knees and the shoulders. Pack a light sweater or shawl if you are wearing a tank top. You won't get near the door of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome in any kind of shorts (guys and gals) and uncovered upper arms, shoulders and torso. Lose the hipster crop top look.
Even if you are Brittany! Many glum looking tourists were cooling their heels on the sidewalk, losing a once in a lifetime chance to see the basilica as they waited for their properly dressed friends and tour to return. Some cathedrals give ladies a "surgery style" cover up to enter, but not St. Peter's.The...same goes for Mosques and other religious shrines worldwide..as it should be. Respect!

While you'll see some people wearing shorts in cities/towns, it's really safest to plan to wear khakis instead of shorts, as even in the smaller cities (e.g., Padua), you need to have your knees and shoulders covered to enter the churches and see the artwork inside. We got our 13-year-old son a pair of zip-off pants that he practically lived in.

The people who screamed "TOURIST," in my opinion, were the people (women) wearing very short shorts and tube tops. Tacky and, I fear, reinforce Europeans' stereotype of uncouth Americans.

You're going to do so much walking that I think foot comfort is more important than style. I'd planned on wearing sneakers but I found that good sandals (e.g., Rockport, Clark) were just as comfortable, more tolerable in the heat, and could take me to dinner with a pair of slacks. I lived in them.

We're all tourists if we're visiting a place where we don't reside. The question is not whether or not you look like a tourist, but rather, what kind of tourist you wish to look like.

Unfortunately, many visitors to Italy are ignorant, lazy, self-righteous, and uninformed. They really should stay home. To be a guest in one's culture and not respect the culture is, frankly, offensive. Of course, there are exceptions and Italians are quite forgiving.

Italian adults are rarely seen on the street in shorts, even if the shorts are the finest made linen from Armani. Exposing so much leg skin while fabric rides up the crack of your ass is considered very bad taste. If your legs are chubby and your ass is fat, you WILL get denigrating stares. Therefore, acquire some tasteful style and DON'T wear shorts outside your hotel room. Heavily wrinkled linen slacks are far more acceptable.

Yes, you will find construction workers shirtless and in cut-offs but they're local workers and they're "working" in the heat.

Italian adults wear sneakers in the palestra (gym) not on the street. Only kids wear sneakers on the street and the sneakers aren't white. No Italian will criticize an American senior wearing sneakers. Older people are cherished in Italy. But, if your 30, from Indiana, and your 100 pounds overweight, it's open season.

Italians make some of the finest walking shoes in the world. Pick up a pair while you're there.

We just returned from Italy and saw everyone was just about everything. Wear what you are comfortable in.

Parker remarked,

>Who cares how you're dressed (shorts? dress? tennis shoes? flip-flops?). No one will comment -....<

Quite frankly, dear colleague, when my wife and I are spending a fairly good chunk of money to enjoy ourselves on a trip away from home we do not wish to be subjected to slobs who don't give a damn about their appearance.

Furthermore, we have found that such people quite often behave just the way one would expect -- without concern for anyone else.

Just a comment.

NYCfoodsnob--are we just a tad bit snobby about things other than food? Save the snide comments about folks from Indiana, please. Those of us who live here are quite cognizant of the fact that when we go abroad we represent our country, and we dress accordingly.

Clean sneakers and knee-length shorts are fine, even in a church. Do not wear jogging shorts, short-shorts, or sloppy sweats. You can't hide that you're a tourist.

While waiting to climb the tower in Sienna I observed two families. One guy said to his friend, how come you aren't wearing sneakers like us. The friend said because I read that Italians don't wear sneaker. That's why I'm wearing sandals, so that I don't look like a tourist.

I was polite enough not to tell him that wearing shorts and a fanny pack that he indeed looked like a tourist. I guess he thought that wearing sandals offset everything else.

Hi all,

What is this thing about not "looking like a tourist"?

There is absolutely no way you can go to another country and immediately blend in.

Whenever I read discussions about what to wear on this board, I feel torn by the comfort versus respect issue. Perhaps David Sedaris in "Me Talk Pretty One Day" said it best when commenting the tourists he sees while living in Paris:

"Comfort has its place, but it seems rude to visit another country dressed as if you've come to mow its lawns."

If you would wear it for yard work, don't wear it to visit foreign cities.