what to wear
 

I am going to Italy in December. I know it will be really cold and to bring warm clothes. How do I dress to not look like a tourist?

noodlez, how you dress will depend on several additional factors:

1. What will you be doing? Standard tourist activities, or others like hiking or biking?

2. How do you usually dress at home? Do you wear Prada or Penney's? Suits or sweats? To change your entire style will not make for a comfortable trip, but within that parameter, there are things you can do to blend in more than not.

3. Will you be on your own or with a tour group? Because if you're with a tour, you might as well not worry about how you are dressed as the rest of the gang will probably scream "tourist".

Does "really cold" mean you are from the south? I was in Italy over winter and its not "really cold" anywhere and not even in the Alps. Are you going skiing? If so its not really cold!

I was in Italy last December/January and I thought it was very cold in the north -- Milan, Venice, etc. (I'm from California.) But it did get more comfortable as we went further south -- Rome, Sorrento, etc.

I wore layers -- peeling them off and putting them on as necessary, and I was very comfortable all during our trip.

My basic black outfit was: wool turtleneck sweaters, wool slacks, leather boots when it was wet and casual leather shoes when it wasn't, a leather jacket in the southern cities and a wool coat in the northern cities.

The lifesavers that kept me really warm and (hopefully) added a touch of style to my basic outfits were: colorful wool or silk scarves, gloves, and a hat when it was really cold or started to rain. Also, don't forget some wool socks, tights or silk underwear.

Wouldn't it be easier to post what the temperature was while you were there in December, instead of saying it was "really cold"?

"Really cold" is really subjective. ;)

To dress in Europe and NOT look like a tourist may vary from place to place. For example, people here will tell you not to wear "jeans" yet thousands of fokks in Europe, particularly younger folks are wearing them.
If you really want to "blend in" I suggest you bring along European-style clothing, PARTICULARLY shoes in the case of male clothing.

Dear noodle,

There is absolutely NO WAY that you will not be recognized as a tourist. Even if you bought all of your clothes in Italy and had the aged before you wore them you could not disguise the fact that you are not an Italian.

Just bring whatever you would wear if you were visiting Richmond, Atlanta or New Orleans.

I think it is imposible for you to dress "to not look like a tourist" in Italy. The Italians have such an innate sense of style and it is very hard to emulate it. Think particularly about shoes and accessories which they do so well. Otherwise just dress comfortably with basic classics and you'll be fine anywhere.