Fashion in Italy

Long pants are not necessary, just have the knees and shoulders covered. Shorts or skirts that come just to the knee are fine.

Any color of shoes are fine, lots of Italians where white athletic shoes just like they do here.

Many Italians do dress up for dinner, especially in higher end restaurants and when dining later in the evening. Many restaurants are mostly casual dress so it's not a necessity unless you want to dress up.

1. Something covering the knee is required in churches. Technically could be a toga or a towel fashioned into a skirt. But long pants or skirts are the norm!
2. White tennis shoes are now in style so will be worn by many people. They are fine for daytime touring.
3. You don’t HAVE to dress up for dinner (and it’s not at all expected at casual cafes) but to blend in at many nicer restaurants it’s good to not wear shorts and sneakers. Very few places are formal in the sense of suits and cocktail dresses, you’re looking more at “smart casual”. For me that’s black slacks, a blouse, flat shoes that aren’t sneakers, and a bit of costume jewelry.

1. I wear either long pants, capri's, or skirt that covers my knees.
2. Over the years "tennis shoes" have evolved. I have seen all colors- especially white and metallics. I have seen women wearing them with midi length skirts, dresses, shorts and pants.
   
3. Yes, some people dress up for dinner, but not necessary. We tend to dress smart casual and comfortably.
   

Regarding dressing up for dinner. I do what Mira does. Hubby wears a sweater or collared shirt, even a polo. At least avoid tee shirts with script of any sort. i.e., a team shirt.

In a 2002 trip to Italy, I had white tennis shoes and stuck out like a sore thumb.
I have not purchased a pair of white shoes since.
We were there last spring and I had seen that, yes, the evolution of shoe styles had occurred, but I'll stick to black. I think it was the predominate color of the 60+ crowd, which I'm in.

What time of year are you going? I see a few people in this thread confirming the long pants thing... We were in Rome, Florence, and Greater Tuscany in July 2018. I wore Bermuda length shorts the entire time with no issues whatsoever.

To my observation, the main things church employees cared about (and I would say this is true mostly of the larger famous churches, which have more staff) was that the shoulders were covered, especially if women were in spaghetti straps or midriff baring shirts or possibly if they were wearing super short shorts. I carried a little shawl to throw over my shoulders if I was in a tank top rather than a T-shirt but otherwise, I didn’t do anything special. So I’m disagreeing with Mira here.

If you’re going in summer, don’t torture yourself with sweat wearing pants to go into churches. It ain’t worth the dehydration. Not to say that you shouldn’t be respectful but this board has a tendency to give way over conservative dress advice. And you’re going to look like a tourist regardless.

As for dressing up for dinner... maybe we ate at too many “obviously casual” places but it didn’t seem much different from the states. Fancy restaurant, dress nice, otherwise casual wear is fine. As for the shoes... well, white tennis shoes are pretty out of style everywhere...

nr. 1 is just wrong. Knees and Shoulders must be covered in ALL churches.

I'd really like to discover how something simply not true like #2 keeps on "being a thing". Italians have been wearing Superga white tennis shoes since 1934, and those have always been the shoes of posh people. Sure, no Italian would wear tennis shoes, shorts and knee-long Socks out of a tennis field, but it's not the shoes! I suspect it all started with kids mocking some German tourist...

nr. 3 is quite wrong, too. Restaurants can't deny service as long as your clothes are clean and there is no Italian translation for dress code.

The biggest mistake here is thinking that people not working in tourism will actually "see" you and that they will care how you'll dress. The usual busy roman walking around for his/her daily life stuff doesn't actually see tourists, just like he\she does not actually see pigeons and double parked cars. There is no Fashion Jury waiting for you at the arrivals.

Fashion is not a big deal in day-to-day Italian life -- they dress pretty much like most of the rest of the world.

Cover knees and shoulders in churches or other religious sites - you don't need to wear pants because you could cover knees and shoulders with a wrap or shawl if you'd rather.

Italians might dress up for dinner in a fancy "special occasion" restaurant, but they eat in casual clothes in ordinary restaurants just like most other places in the world.

I think the Italians have more style than the rest of the world. I always feel a bit frumpy but it has nothing to do with my legs or shoulders being bare. I am amazed, especially in Milan, how women can walk in the heels that they do. My sensible shoes set me apart as a tourist.

That said, I don’t let it bother me.

I think we all perceive fashion differently. In my previous thread I spoke to the OP’s reference to “tennis shoes.” I meant to refer to the trend towards “Sneakers.” This is what I have seen evolve to over the years. My husband and I wear Ecco 7’s Sneakers for comfort and style. These are not your “father’s tennis shoes” Just sayin.’

The young folks are wearing white sneakers now, yet I just can’t myself to wear them. I’m really not a sneaker gal to begin with and just try to find the most prettiest walking sandal I can.

I like to dress up in the evening, dressy casual. I bring a pair of peep-tied wedges for the evenings. But I did find in the more casual restaurants, even nice ones, I did not see too many heels. But maybe I wasn’t at the dressier places.

We found the Italians very fashionable, the men more than the women actually!