Italians in Fleece?

In my 6 trips to Italy, I don't recall ever seeing an Italian in fleece. I see them in football (soccer) sport jersey tops - men only.

I watch a webcam of a town in Italy, year round, and I've never seen fleece jackets on anyone. I do see down coats in January!

My thought is, if they don't wear it, maybe they don't understand it, or can't find it. I think it is a great gift, so if you can afford this kind of gift, go for it. It's pretty American, so they might appreciate something "different"

One more thought, fleece would be fine for younger to middle aged, but might not be so good for the older generation, I don't think they'd get it at all!

Are you going North or South?

In all but the most Northern parts of Italy anything heavyweight will probably be too much. A lightweight fleece that has a full zip would be best.

Also, Italians do logos. They will like it better with a good brand like North Face or even an American team logo. They often wear the knit polyester zip up sports team jackets. My friend was wearing his new jacket with the logo of the Italian Air Force flying team (like our Thunderbirds or Blue Angels) and received a lot of admiring looks and comments.

Brad -
no WAY - I see Italians way down south in down coats, hats and scarves in APRIL for goodness sake :-) (while I am in a T-Shirt!) everything is relative and it is cold to them :-) (and a long, damp winter - many do not have heat or do not use it due to the high cost!) I see wealthy, "older" women in Fur coast - yes, even in the South (though, not as many as in Venice and the Veneto)

I have seen Italians in Fleece - I can't remember seeing in in stores, but wasn't looking - anything looking "American" should go over well...especially with the younger set. Abercrombie and Fitch is wildly popular (and not very available) with the 20-something set in Europe right now...and, and of the sports logos (Adidas, etc.)

CDs are also good gifts - they are very expensive over there (30 euro-ish) - all the Italians I know jam their suitcases with CDs when visiting the US.

i saw fleece jackets on sale at some of the local markets when I was there last November.

TAB

North Face is suddenly huge here, so that would go over very well, especially with younger people. Just make sure that your sizes aren't too large, people here prefer more form-fitting clothes. They may not wear it much when going out, but as most Italians dress down and wear comfy clothes when at home, the fleece would be great for hanging around the house in or doing some kind of outdoor sporty activity.