Black jeans and blue jeans?

If you're looking to blend in with the locals a bit then go with black. But even with blue the locals won't chase you down the street with pitch forks:)

When are you going? I take jeans if I'm traveling in the offseason, eg. April November. I wouldn't take them during the summer.

I would definitely take jeans for any month except July and August for the places you will visit. Dark blue would be a great choice and they need to fit well-no baggy mom jeans. We took jeans along for our France/Switzerland trip in late May/mid June and wore them constantly. Other tourists, locals, etc all wore jeans. Great to pair with a dressier jacket, scarf, etc. I love my back jeans but they attract lint and then I have the hassle of using a lint roller so those jeans remain at home.

...oohh staying out of this one...

Go for blue. Dark wash/rinse. Europeans always do super skinny cut. Wear what is comfortable, though.

If you have the figure for it, bring your tightest fitting ones. I always wear very dark (black & indigo) skinny jeans that look painted on and I fit right in. It's surprisingly more comfortable and great for walking 10 miles a day. I imagine it's because of the same concept of support hose.

I have spent a lot of time in Italy over the past 10 years and no one cares what color jeans or denin you are wearing. Just take your most comfortable pair. Most american tourists in Italy can be easily identified unless you are of Italian descent or speak Italian.

See my posting from this past May: Blue Jeans Everywhere

Oh come on Nigel. These are fun. It always starts out as a legitimate question posted by women asking (presumably) other women what they wear and ends with a bunch of old guys trying to out do each other with their 'I'm the most comfortably dressed' credentials. We all learn that you are silly for trying not to stick out because if you deliver speeches in public they will know you are an American, everybody/nobody wears jeans/shorts, and if you aren't buying your wardrobe off the back of The American Legion magazine, then you have no sense. Then it will enevitably revert to the Monybeltists and how you can't shove that thing in un-elastisized wastebands, I'll get a mailbox full of nasty PM's for suggesting something other than yoga pants, and the new poster will flee to TA thinking 'WTH, I just wanted to know blue or black?'

Thanks much, everyone. Yep, Susan, my black jeans attract lint as well. Plus they're made of slightly different fabric which gets hotter than the fabric of my blue jeans. So I think all things considered, I'll stick with the blue jeans. This will be the first time since I first went to Europe in 1995 that I have not taken my black jeans, but they are a pain. And yes, Michael I remember your posting from May. As a matter of fact it was that posting that made me think of checking things out again. (I couldn't find your May posting on my own although I got right there when I clicked your link). I was thinking styles/fashions change quickly enough in Italy and France, so I thought I'd run things by the clever RS people. Yes, I know that I won't be fooling anyone into thinking I'm Italian. I just don't want to embarrass myself too badly. But the shoes are a dead giveaway. I have to wear some sort of athletic shoes in order to be able to walk all day but at least I've managed for the last few years to find some in black, not the dreaded white. Again, I thank you all for your contributions to my wardrobe and my good humor.

Thanks Kay for having the courage to ask! I've been 'wrestling' with what to bring for trip to the lakes region in September. Now I know!! It's onto or 'into' skinny jeans!!

Just remember that skinny jeans are a privilege, not a right. Just like spandex. :-)

I was just in Rome for a few days, and was wearing dark blue skinny jeans most of the time. Did fit in in those, although since it has been SO hot recently in Rome, all the other tourists were in shorts or dresses. Italian women mostly stuck to dresses and skirts rather than shorts, but you did see some. Jeans, especially dark ones, are definitely worn. I think the dark blue can go with more outfits than black.