Appropriate clothing for June travel with teenagers

One thought to consider is the weather. Other than your Italian destinations it may easily be too cold to wear shorts. So why burden your suitcase with shorts that you can only wear once or twice weatherwise and then need to think twice if you may have a church that day on your list you want to be able to enter?

Only in Italy will you really run into the shorts in churches issue, most everywhere else won't care.

Shorts that go over the knees( cover completely ) are ok in churches,but most shorts stop at knee, which is not ok, but as I said, only an issue in Italy.

For Munich and Salzburg you will likely still need a light jacket or fleece for evenings, and long pants.
Capris and skirts are fine everywhere.
Ps , Jeans are fine everywhere, although it may be too hot in Italy for them.

I believe that a skirt/dress should also be below the knee in order to be acceptable in the Italian churches with strict enforcement, but I’ll defer to the opposite gender on this one.

There are very easy, very basic rules for everyone to follow with regards to the shorts in churches issue. Of the cities you listed the only rules are in Venice & Rome, in other words - Italy. There is CLEAR signage outside St. Peter's that says "NO shorts". Teenagers, men, women are all the same - knee length shorts are NOT the same as Capris. The other issue you have is tank tops or any shirt that has bare shoulders. You need to have them covered. Women will often carry a shawl or scarf to cover up when they want to go into a church wearing summer clothing.

Some posters may tell you that it "depends on who is guarding the door" as to whether they let you in. There are also many churches that do not have anyone in front at all and so you are able to "sneak in" if you are wearing shorts. This may be true, but I personally don't think this is right - IN ITALY.

We were in Salzburg a couple of years ago (and Paris a few years before that) wearing shorts and had no problem with the churches. It's just Italy where you'll have the problem. But the weather can be funky that time of year. We were there in August and it was in the 80's for a week, and then didn't get above 60 for the week after. I love lightweight capris that I can wash out in the sink.

There are these continual questions about wearing shorts in Churches in Europe. Do the people who ask about this wear shorts in their own churches? Where I live this would be considered very bad form.

Norma ,, where I live shorts in churches are not considered bad form. Seriously. And it does vary from type of church to church.Catholic churches care more about appearences then many other churches.

Also, it would seem if someone lived in a hot climate, shorts would not be considered unusaul to wear to many things... Bermuda shorts are worn by even business men in Bermuda right?

My experience is that teenagers want to wear shorts everywhere all of the time regardless of season, and you shouldn’t expect to have any issues as long as your kids are wearing the basketball-length version that stops below the knee. Your husband may wish to wear pants for the churches in Italy, but he would be fine anywhere with below knee-length shorts if that’s what he would prefer to wear. I might recommend pants for him just to play it safe and to feel more at ease for the Italian churches. Frankly, you’ll see American tourists of all ages wearing shorts of varying lengths in the churches of Venice. It just depends on how strictly the “dress code” is being enforced.

When I was a church goer, at an English Catholic church, shorts were perfectly acceptable - if you were willing to risk the cold.

These questions crop up a lot because although most people realise that churches require you to dress in a "respectful" manner what is classed as respectful dress varies from place to place.

In some places (i.e. southern Europe) bare shoulders are unacceptable, in some (northern Europe) they are. Heck, I'll bet there are a few churches where a Harry Potter T-shirt would be beyond the pale.

One more time - if anyone is really interested in "appropriate clothing" for a church IN ITALY, as opposed to what you can get away with or what we wear while at home - the answer is: shorts are not appropriate clothing for your husband, son & daughter. Been to Rome twice now with kids ages 10-25. On the days that we visited churches, especially St. Peter's, we wore either below knee skirts or lightweight long pants. This was not a huge problem for the teenagers. We saw many tourists turned away from St. Peters or buying paper "kilts" to put over their shorts. And on the day that my husband forgot and wore knee length nice shorts to the Abbey at Montecassino he was turned away at the door.

I have read in several sources that you can expect enforcement at St. Peter’s Basilica, but I cannot personally provide a recommendation, as I have never visited that particular Christian site (go with Karen on this one). I can advise you that I had no problem whatsoever wearing three-quarter length men’s khakis into any church I visited across Lombardy and Veneto. You’ll see these worn widely among mostly younger people in Italy (and other locales in Europe). And, both kids & adults (tourists) were wearing shorts of varying lengths in the churches. I’m not promoting this fashion statement, but you’ll certainly see it. The bottom line is that it’s wise to ensure that shorts completely cover the knee should your kids decide to wear them. It’s really a matter of respecting the culture. And, you can respect the culture while being comfortable by wearing shorts, three-quarter length pants, or long pants that completely cover the knee. Having said this, as I indicated before, your husband may wish to wear pants just to play it safe for the churches.

Thank you to everyone who responded to my question. It is important to me that we respect the culture and our hosts. Balancing that with weather issues and personal preferences is certainly doable. Your collective input has been very helpful. Can I assume that a knee length skirt or dress would be acceptable or does that also have to be below the knee?

Rosanne, skirt or dress, at St Peters anyways, must be below the knee. It is not the dress that makes it respectful,, it is the LENGTH.. the knees must be covered.
( who knew knees were so perverted,, LOL)

I am still laughing about perverted knees! I think I know what to do now. Thanks everyone.