What to wear in Italy
 

We have been advised not to look like a tourist. Looking for suggestions as to what to wear in early August in Milan, Florence and Rome. We have Mom, Dad, teenage boy and girl and an 8 year old boy. I understand bluejeans are OK, but I would think awfully hot. Tennis shoes and flip flops are definitely out, what about shorts and skirts for women and shorts for men and boys. What sort of shoes? Thanks for any tips!!

You will look like tourists; residents won't be carrying maps and cameras and speaking English. Just don't look like clueless ones/easy targets. Carry bags which close securely and keep an eye on them. Keep your wits about you.

I'm planning a trip to Italy next summer and don't plan to really buy any special clothing. There's no chance of my resembling a fashionable Italian woman anyway. :) I do plan to bring casual skirts and lightweight trousers, but probably no jeans; in the summer that's just too hot. (I wear skirts much more often than shorts, but shorts would be fine when not visiting a church.) You definitely want good shoes; "good" for me means good arch support and comfortable to walk in all day. If you plan to buy new ones, buy them NOW and wear them as much as possible before you leave. Personally I'd get some Chaco sandals or something similar; closed-toed shoes with socks will get hot.

If you'll be visiting churches (like the Vatican/St Peter's), make sure your knees and shoulders are covered.

Who on Earth gave you that advice - certainly not anyone with who's ever visited Italy? I honestly don't get this "what is the dresscode in Yurp?" thing. Wear whatever you feel comfortable in when you visit Italy, there are no do's or don'ts apart from visits to some churches where slightly more conservative clothing is required. Local people are too busy with their own lives to care what you are wearing.

You will look like a tourist any way! How many time you walk in your home town all four of you, looking at buildings, statues, walking slow, sometimes with a map in the hand, with a camera, in shorts ?? At least there you speak the local language!

Don't be afraid to look like a tourist. You have to wear comfortable and decent clothes and shoes, that is all. And not only in Italy.

When I want to downplay my tourist status and mingle with the locals in Italy, I find this sort of getup to be very effective:

http://z.about.com/d/goitaly/1/0/M/G...ale-purple.jpg

The only rules are:

For churches make sure knees, shoulders and bosom are covered (not up to the neck but no Britney outfits) for adults - including teens. Little kids clothing is not an issue/

For practicality - jeans are too heavy, you need 2 pairs of broken in walking shoes (keeping in mind many places have cobblestones versus sidewalks)and a small folding umbrellas i always useful. It will be very hot nad humid so be sure you keep wekk hydrated - carrying a smal bottle of water is a good idea - plus lots of stops at little cafes for drinks - and don;t forget the gelato.

StCirq, I know that's probably not the advice the OP was looking for, but I sure needed that laugh. :)

Remember the poster who said she finally solved the problem of what to wear in Rome, to blend in perfectly? Her solution was to dress like a nun or a priest. One of my all time Fodor favorites.

StCirq

I guess I will never be allowed to mingle with the locals in Italy. I look terrible in purple.

scatcat: try this, then: http://z.about.com/d/goitaly/1/0/N/G...nevale-red.jpg

Hi Jolini,

I would suggest bringing cropped pants and skirts (much cooler than jeans for sure) and basically clothes that will comfortable to wear (e.g cotton). Black still seems to be the universal color. I rarely see Italian women wearing short if that helps.

Comfortable flat shoes are a must for all day walking.

Have fun on your holiday!

<< We have been advised not to look like a tourist >>

If you don't want to look like a tourist then you will avoid Milan, Florence, and Rome in August.

Wear the coolest clothing you own. Look neat and presentable, just like at home (hopefully!).

StCirq

Now that color might work for me. I can just see the Italians swarming around me.

Hi- Just returned from trip to Rome, Tuscany, Bologna and Venice. I told my husband to bring 2 pair of long nice shorts and the rest long pants. He wore the pants twice to a restaurant that required them and the rest of the time we washed out the shorts. As said before--do not try to look like a local because you will not and you should relax and enjoy your trip. He also had to buy leather sneakers because the other shoes he brought looked too dorky with the shorts:)

Make sure to wear comfortable sandles. I brought only carry-on bag and did bring moleskin (a lifesaver!!) but had to buy small scizzors. I strongly suggest you bring some with you because someone will more than likely need it.

Enjoy your trip--we sure did and can't wait to go back.

You guys are great. Thanks for the tips. . .trust me, August wasn't our first choice, but with all the other summer activities just the way it worked out. We're just trying to not to look like rookies, which we are.

For summer visits in Italy, I pack linen and cotton/silk blend skirts and tank dresses for daytime and comfortable walking sandals. I pack things I can easily wash and wear and mix and match as we are carry on only fans. I have also worn capris but am more of a skirt fan as I find them cooler and more comfortable overall.

It is a personal choice but I don't wear shorts when traveling in Europe unless we are in a beach resort on the coast and neither does my husband. He packs microfiber slacks (golf slacks mostly as he finds them comfortable) and DriFit shirts. We save the shorts for here at home in FL.

Except for the churches and modesty thing, for Italian cities whatever you would wear in New York or Chicago on a hot day of city sightseeing is fine. For girls and women capri pants or a knee covering skirt are good choices. For men and boys khaki slacks are good. Tennis shoes are also fine, especially for kids. Certainly Italian kids wear them.

Hi again-

We found that really most of the men wearing long slacks during the day were in Rome or Bologna and were local businessmen or really much older Italian men. I live in Upstate New York and don't even use an air conditioner all summer so perhaps we feel the warm weather more than others.

To be at a villa in Tuscany (which we were for 4 days) without shorts would be uncomfortable sitting by the pool. I wore black capris or skirts so I had no issues.

If anyone is looking for a relaxing, peaceful villa (and very reasonable) let me know and I will give you info where we stayed in Castellina in Chianti-really great spot.

I love the Carnevale costume! Great advice from everyone. I agree, wear what is comfortable, but you can also blend in somewhat. It seems like they wear a lot of fashionable, yet simple attire.

I went twice in the dead of summer. I brought cotton/rayon dresses which were comfortable yet still looked nice. My husband was mostly in longer shorts or pants.

It must have worked...I had many people come up to me asking for directions, speaking in Italian and trying to show me their guide books so I could help them. Then when I spoke English they were surprised I wasn't a local.

That said, I think it helped I made copies of only the pages I needed from books and just sections of maps. We were never walking around with guide books, yet we were still well-informed and found our way around.

My 18-year old daughter probably has an opinion since we just returned a couple of days ago and I had the same conversations with her before we left. I made her dress a little more conservatively than she does at home and of course everywhere we went (Rome, Abruzzo, Tuscany, Milano, Bellagio) there were lots of people (Italian and many other nationalities) dressed far more causally than she was. Of course she spotted all of them.

As others have mentioned, it’s only when visiting churches that you have to dress conservative. I saw an elderly Italian woman in a long skirt denied entrance to the Duomo in Milan because her shoulders were exposed so they will stop anyone, not just tourists.

It was hot, especially in Rome, so I wore lightweight long linen pants to a couple of the nicer restaurants and knee length linen shorts everywhere else (including churches) and I was still probably overdressed compared to many, especially those from other EU countries. My 18-year old wore comfortable knee length skirts or Capri pants and she was fine everywhere as long as her shoulders were covered when we visited the churches.

We all wore comfortable sandals everywhere and they blended right in.

It was warm these past two weeks so I can only imagine August. As others have mentioned... cool, comfortable and casual are the key, just as you would in any other city you visit around the world and then more conservative when you visit the churches.

<<Black still seems to be the universal color>>

I love black and wear it a lot but not in summer, I agree with the advice of khaki, linen shorts and pants and lightweight fabrics.

Have fun.

<<I saw an elderly Italian woman in a long skirt denied entrance to the Duomo in Milan because her shoulders were exposed so they will stop anyone, not just tourists.>>

That's very strange, I can't imagine an elderly Italian woman not knowing her shoulders must be covered in a church.

<<That's very strange, I can't imagine an elderly Italian woman not knowing her shoulders must be covered in a church.>>

From the bits and pieces I understood from my Italian language classes, it sounded like it was an unplanned visit and she was trying to explain that to the fashion police.

I love the look and feel of linen but it wrinkles so badly. Is there some fashion trick or is it just fine to wear it wrinkled?

Yes, wear linen wrinkled and don't worry about it.

I prefer skirts and dresses to shorts (cooler and more comfortable) but in the very warm summer climate that you're going to encounter on this trip (and this is coming from somebody who lives in Atlanta) many women may have a problem with....


[okay, listen up---if you don't want to read about women's underwear you need to stop reading this posts right now]




[I'm not kidding here. Consider yourself warned]



...chafing. Unless you're very thin you'll likely find that your upper thighs rub together when you perspire, and it can be very, very uncomfortable. You can help by using either powder (baby powder containing zinc oxide is good) or solid deodorant in the area of interest, but the easiest fix is your underwear: either bike shorts style or something called pettipants. Pettipants are the very definition of little old lady style, but they are very comfortable in the summer: nothing tight, lots of "breathing" room.

"she was trying to explain that to the fashion police."

I do not consider these people fashion police. These are places of worship or religious significance and IMO deserve to be entered by people who dress respectfully. I think it's commendable personally.

In June we saw many skinny, young teenaged Italian girls wearing the shorter shorts. There are so many people walking around most of the places that you will fit in if you dress in what you would wear in summer back home. My son and DH wore knee length shorts and polos most of the time and my daughter and I wore sundresses and capris. The men wore tennis shoes (son also wore flip flops) and daughter and I wore flats or comfy sandals.

Thanks for reminding me, Therese - I use Body Glide to stop
that o-so-annoying problem. It comes in a deodorant-like
stick and is used by marathoners to ease their discomfort.
And used by me in a slightly more pedestrian application.

I completely agree kfusto... my comment was a tongue-in-cheek statement. I respect these places of worship as well which is why I instructed my daughter to treat our visits and her dress appropriately.

We are six Canadians arriving in Rome July 31. I do not feel comfortable unless I am wearing earmuffs. I hope this is not a problem at the Vatican, as we have a reserved tour there on August 1.

jolini~ BAsically I find all the assumptions in your post, simply (thankfully) not true.

There's nothing wrong with sneakers. European people wear them too! I take my regular white Nikes and a couple pair of nice looking but fairly sturdy sandals. I also pack flip flops to wear around for short periods of times.

Shorts are OK too, for everyone. Just pack nice looking ones, that come to the knee. Accept for visiting churches and cathedrals, when you may need to be a bit more covered up.

And you're absolutley right, August in Italy is WAY too hot for jeans imo.