Above the knee dresses in Italy

They don't have enforcers at some Italian churches, only at the famous ones that you probably want to get into. I'm not an expert on the "you can enter, you can't" decisions that are made at the door by the enforcers: But if it's important to you to not be turned away at the door of the famous churches, why not wear capris, pants, or a longer skirt/dress on the days you want to get into churches? Or you can go for it, but understand that at a place like St Peters you may well stand in line a long time and then be turned away at the door if the enforcers don't like what they see.

You may well be turned away at the Vatican but possibly/probably not at smaller churches. I have just come back from Rome and met an American couple who had a young girl in a skirt just above her knees in front of them in the queue and she was turned away. Wear pants or a long mid calf length skirt to be on the safe side.

Could you just crouch down a bit as you go through the entrance?:)

Norm... too funny!!

Well Sara, that's one thing to consider... crouch down a bit to cover the knees.. but you may look like quasimoto.

Well, it would be difficult to do with a shorter dress but I have a skirt that is just at the knee. It has an elastic waist band so I can just pull it down a little if need be. And of course wear a t-shirt long enough as to not expose my tummy in that case ...

The "fashionista polizia," located just outside the Basilica of St. Peter's, and dressed in Armani!!!!! , will turn you away if you are not "knees and shoulders" covered - and they are very particular!

I wonder is leggings that cover the knee are OK under a dress? Are they too form fitting?

Sara:
I have to disagree with the post that leggings will do the trick. My 20 year old daughter was wearing leggings and was not allowed into the Duomo in Milan. When they say they want knees covered, they mean they don't want to see the knees..period. I would not take a chance on leggings as you very likely will be turned away at the door.

Sara - on second thought Lori is probably right. I was thinking of "leggings" as looking like yoga type pants. But when you say they are very form fitting they must look more like "tights" - which would not be considered covering the knees.

Kents comment is a good one. You don't need to be dressed up, you just need to have knees and shoulders (and tummy) covered.

A casual skirt or dress just above the knees will be great for many of your other activities, but wear something longer when you visit the churches.

People talk about wrapping a pashmina scarf around their waste as a quick cover-up when visiting a church. We haven't done it and I really don't pay attention to what everyone is wearing enough to know whether I've see it or not.

This may be a silly comment, but what about for men? Can they wear shorts into the Vatican and churches?

No, men have the same rules as women.

Just got back from the Tuscany area two days ago so I can't speak for proper dress for churches in Rome. It is respectable to cover your shoulders. No one will care if your knees are showing, however, don't wear a mini. I wore a dress that just touched my knees. If they feel you are showing too much skin, they will make you wear a big ugly paper "drape", kind of like what you would wear at the gynocologist to get a pap smear.

Note to the wary: St Peter's (Vatican) and St Mark's (Venice) have dress code enforcers at the door that tend to be more strict about bare knees than what Laurie encountered in Tuscany churches. At least we keep being told this by travelers reporting in here that they were turned away, or more often that they saw others being turned away, at the door of St Peter's and St Mark's when they were wearing shorts.