Heart of Italy in March - clothing for evenings?

go to dinner in Rome or Florence in the same travel pants I've toured around in all day

That is what I did and I ate well and was not turned away anywhere

Everything we read talks about "casual travel clothes" but I can't
quite bring myself around to believing that I will go to dinner in
Rome or Florence in the same travel pants I've toured around in all
day.

We haven't done the tours but going to dinner in what we've worn all day is standard for us. We rarely ever return to the hotel before turning in for the night. If we (or you) were going to fancy, 5-star restaurants with dress codes, it would be different but we don't go to those and as far as I know, the RS tours don't go to those either.

Some people smarten up a little in the evening. You won't be ostracized if you do. Please yourself! I pack so light that I don't have much to change into. Throw a scarf on over whatever you have on and go! RS tours go to nice places but not dressy places.

You should go with what feels right for you. If you want to freshen up your day time wardrobe with scarf or jewelry, you should. If you are comfy wearing the same thing, that's fine too (from what I've seen on the tours). That being said, I always bring a dress that I can dress up or down, packs lights/doesn't wrinkle, for those times that I want to "dress up."

On all the RS tours I've done (8), I've more often than not gone to dinner in the same clothes I've toured in all day. In March you won't have to worry about being sweaty during the day. The times I've changed we had headed back to the hotel and had a couple of hours before dinner so I showered and put on the clothes I had targeted for the next day...unless I was wearing the same thing!

On this tour, you're going pretty hard except in CT so you may not have time for a change.

Your clothing choices sound fine but how heavy are the cords? They might be too hot for me but I live where it's cool. You'll wear one of the 3 pair on the plane, right?

I'd recommend just 1 scarf because believe me, if you are a scarf person you'll be in heaven in Italy. So many choices and what great souvenirs!

Before I traveled with RS tours, I had toured with other tour groups where a large number of people always brought something dressier to wear for dinner and/or the final group dinner. It's a lovely gesture, but remember this one thing. If you pack it, plan to wear it more than once. You're going to have to haul this around, so at least get more than one wearing out of it.

What I often do is change shirts before dinner and maybe throw on a lightweight sweater to make my outfit look a little different from what I wore all day. Now these are shirts I'll wear again on the tour, so it's not like I packed an entire separate dinner wardrobe. It does help me feel a little fresher, though.

If you're one of those amazing people who can make a scarf do incredible things, that's probably the lightest weight accessory you can add other than some jewelry. But again, you're going to have to carry all of this stuff around. Plan ahead for maximum flexibility.

Hope you have a wonderful trip!

Thanks everybody. This has been very helpful!