September weather- Italy dress code for men

Cargo shorts are always in style.
My wife does not agree, but I have proof.
We ate lunch in a pleasant, mid-priced restaurant in Bologna (in September) and of course I wore cargo shorts.
So did all the 6 Italian men sitting at the next table. I did make a point about it. She was grumpy.

I have worn cargo shorts (always in style) everywhere (restaurants (at all price levels), churches, cemeteries, museums) in France, Portugal, España, Italia, Slovenija, and Österreich and have never been turned away.

Search the InnerTubes® for 'cargo pants with zipper legs'
My wife bought mine at Costco for $15.
I have worn the "legs" exactly twice in 3 years. Once was in business class on BA where the guy across the aisle from me stripped down to a T-shirt and gym shorts.

Sure they can "get away" with shorts at religious sites. As long as their knees are covered, as the rules stipulate. As for restaurants at dinner- it will depend on the restaurant, and what village, town, or city you happen to be in. We've certainly seen men turned away due to inappropriate dress at religious sites. He'd likely be OK at more casual eateries at dinner time, although he may get side eyed.

DH has travelled all over the world - to some of the hottest places on earth - and has been comfortable in slacks and a collared shirt. The trick is in lightweight, breathable fabrics. Could he bring one pair of summer weight pants? Surely he would be wearing pants on the flight over? Cargo shorts stylish? They've NEVER been stylish. Popular with American men does not equal stylish.

Wearing shorts in church is discouraged. He may or may not be turned away. As for restaurants, he’ll probably be OK. This wonderful restaurant has a dress code. Scroll to the bottom to see it. https://www.ristorantenino.it/home-english/.

@davebarnes I love this! Too funny. My husband and you are both the same breed of travelers! I'm so cracking up.. but it does make me feel better to hear this! Thank you!

I'm a cargo shorts kind of gal, but I've never thought them in style.......I just don't care. I did not wear them in Italy if churches were on the agenda (I wore cargo pants). My thoughts were twofold: 1 - I wanted to be respectful, not just "get away with" wearing something they didn't approve of, and 2 - I didn't want to carry around something to cover up with, just in case I got there on a day with an eager beaver security person who wouldn't let me get away with it.

@ thanks Chiara.

@chiara- agree-my husband doesn’t think cargo shorts are “stylish” just comfortable! He’s of the mode to travel as comfortably as possible! 😊

I have seen people turned away at Santa Croce wearing shorts and of course they will absolutely be turned away at St. Peters. All churches in Italy pretty much ban them but most don't have the personnel to monitor and enforce. So rude tourists usually can stroll in.

I'm female and always wear at least mid-calf pants to keep the sun off my legs, so I cannot cite personal experiences in Italy. I do want to point out that Italy is full of magnificent churches; you never know when you'll see one you'd like to pop into. For many of us it's not just a matter of dressing appropriately on the day we're planning to go to the Vatican.

Exposing shoulders and knees in consecrated churches is not only discouraged, it's clearly forbidden.
Saint Peter's Square is a religious site where nobody can tell you how to dress. Saint Peter's Cathedral is a place of worship where Catholics think Mr./Mrs. God to be physically present.

So it doesn't matter how one covers knees and shoulders, but they must be covered. Tourists "getting away" are ignoring others' religious beliefs. It's not something you want to do these days.

Italian restaurants have no legal right to prevent anyone from entering as long as clothes are clean. They can't refuse service because of aesthetic reasons. Always remember that There is no Italian translation for Dress Code.

Since times are changing and people seem to do not know how to behave, many managers pretend not to know the law. A crowd of sloppy tourists from Milan inside an "almost starred" restaurant would take all posh Neapolitan customers out. Of course in the real world you do not start a legal argument at a restaurant's door, but they can't press it too hard: at the most they can give a man in short and flip-flops the farthest table from the window.

As a side note, a good manager working in a starred restaurant on a seaside town would never look bad at tourists wearing shorts. Context matters.

I think you have a lot of good advice about shorts. What I’d like to add a comment about are men’s shirts or tops. We went in Italy in September. My H’s favorite tops for comfort in hot weather were the collared golf shirts. Light weight, breathable, no wrinkles. He bought several,colors and wore those. At least he calls them golf shirts. They are quite light weight. He got his all at Macy’s. They looked very nice, too.

I wear shorts wherever I am if the temperature is above 18c however they're usually smart chino shorts rather than the baggy, bulky, multi pocketed cargo shorts that look slovenly and far too casual. Zip off shorts will never look good.

I've never been turned away from a church whilst wearing shorts. Never been turned away from a restaurant although in the evening I may wear jeans or a smart shirt to go with my shorts. I've never noticed an explicit dress code in Italy, my take is that most Italians know what is acceptable and don't require guidance or rules. Generally Italians like to look smart when they go out for dinner, very unlikely to see an Italian man in cargo shorts.

However, he's entitled to wear what he wants. If he wants to wear cargo shorts, he can wear cargo shorts. He might receive some disapproving looks but who cares, if he's thick skinned like me it won't bother him.

Maybe take a pair of pants that can be converted to shorts via zippers? The weather will be hot in September and many places in Italy have no AC, so shorts will be a must for him.

Agreeing with Dario. People everywhere do judge (and treat) you by what you wear, whether they decide to say something about it or not. Whether or not you are a believer, or whether they have a bouncer at the door or not, churches should be entered with respect. There's a fine line between comfortable and slobby.

Poor Lisa! I wish I had a nickel for every one of the shorts-no-shorts questions!

I'm not a guy but aside from the respect thing, it might be a matter of risk? The tall and short of the dress-code confusion (pun absolutely intended) for churches is consistency of how the no-knees rule has been policed. Google of some random pix of tourist groups in Rome's basilica - where the posted rule for men is long pants - and you're going to see a few shorts/knees, like in this one:

https://www.alamy.com/tourists-inside-of-the-st-peters-basilica-san-pietro-in-vaticano-papal-basilica-of-st-peter-in-the-vatican-rome-italy-image236174210.html

LOL, there are some pix out there of a couple of American celebrities cruising the St Peter's basilica in skirts so short that I wonder who was minding the shop that day! So there's the problem: some male and female knees have gotten by without a blink but others have not and have reported as much on various sites. It can be up to the whim of the guards on any given day. Standing in a long queue only to be refused entry at the door would be time I'd personally not want to risk losing?

The guards at the duomo in Milan and Florence were particularly diligent, as I recall - I saw them turn any number of inappropriately dressed tourists away - but again, pictures of some visible knees are out there for those two churches as well. Still, most men pictured are in long pants. As I can't seem to pass an Italian church by without having a peek, we both dress daily for the most inflexible of door-minders. :O)

No issues at ALL with shorts and casual restaurants. Italian men like their shorts when it's hot too!

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/shorts-for-men-in-italy

Thank you so much everyone for your responses! I may add that I did phrase it poorly, "getting away" with wearing shorts- I didn't mean to deliberately try to be sneaky or disrespectful.

I just wondered if men do indeed wear shorts. I wondered if the dress code was more for women (not wearing a mini-skirt or showing lots of cleavage). I guess that sounds quite sexist of me and I don't mean it that way.
My husband is a larger size guy and hates to be hot in the summertime (we are going to Italy in early September) and I hate to be the nagging wife forcing him to bring long pants and when we get to Italy, he sees all of these guys wearing shorts.
I actually DID go into some of the tour scrap books to see what people were wearing on their summer months Italy tours!! haha!
Thanks everyone for your feedback. I will show him this post and he can decide for himself- but I don't want to be the recipient of nasty comments or glances or being turned away at the door! I will personally be prepared for the dress codes. Thanks!

When we were in Italy in September, my wife and I both wore shorts except when we went to St Peters. When we were walking around the forum in Rome, a women looked at us and then her husband and said “I wish we would have brought shorts.” I have worn shorts all over Europe and respect places that do not want or allow shorts and I either cover up or don’t go in. I really don’t care what others think of me. I paid a lot of money to vacation somewhere and I want to be comfortable. When Europeans come to the US, they don’t buy new outfits to “fit in” in the US. Just be comfortable. Nobody really cares what you look like and if they do, who cares. You will never see them again. I work with a lot of Europeans daily, and none of them care what anyone from the US wears.

"What I’d like to add a comment about are men’s shirts or tops. ...collared golf shirts. Light weight, breathable, no wrinkles. He bought several,colors and wore those....He got his all at Macy’s. They looked very nice, too."

I get mine at Goodwill. $2.50 each for brand new shirts on Senior Discount Mondays.
Colors and logos selection is limited.

Yes, men wear shorts! During the day, every day except when we went to the Vatican. DH likes to dress up like I do, so his were very nice dress shorts, in several colors. I did not wear shorts, only skirts or dresses. In the evenings, he wore trousers to,dinner.

A lot of I don't care what people think has been expressed. To me that is a lot of Ugly American being shown. I have always followed the guideline of when in Rome do as the Romans do where ever I am.

That is certainly your choice and your opinion. I really don’t think it has anything to do with being an ugly American. Look around. People dress how they want from all over the world. It has nothing to do with being American. I dress respectfully where required, but other than that, I want to be comfortable and in being comfortable, it is usually respectful. Very few people in the world really care what you or a I dress like unless there is a dress code.

Bob, I'm not seeing all that much of the "I don't care" attitude. What is confusing is the myth that no one but tourists wear shorts, and that's just not true. Respected Italian posters have dispelled that myth. Our OP and most respondents clearly are not taking the "We paid lots of money to come here so we should be able to dress as we like" position that falls into the "Tacky Tourist" category, regardless of citizenship.

Trust me, I think many of us have seen PLENTY of tourists from other parts of the world dressed more questionably than an American gentleman in tidy cargo shorts! That said, there is a dress code for most Italian churches that may or may not be more or less diligently policed.

when in Rome do as the Romans do

Yeah, and they wear shorts too. Maybe not out to dinner in a fine restaurant, but otherwise, the Italians don't have some kind of superior sense of style.......they dress pretty much like everyone else I've seen.

Thank you everyone!
It seems to me that the convertible zip off long pants/shorts are the perfect answer for me! It’s a good compromise.
My woe is that they are deemed so “tacky tourist” why can’t we all bring convertible zip off pants back into style in 2020? There are a lot of high fashion items that are just simply silly- but they are accepted as “exquisite trend setting and fabulous.” The convertible pants are simply a practical solution- staying cool and comfortable but still having the wherewithall to be respectful of cultures and beliefs.

Let’s start a trend in 2020 to make convertible pants stylish!!!!! (Yes I’m saying this tongue firmly planted in cheek!!)

Thanks all for your responses. Happy travels- May we all meet the most interesting people, see the most awe inspiring sights, eat some delicious food and learn so much about culture and art and people. May we all get outside our comfort zone in 2020! I wish you the best, Lisa

So, is who and how is the part that comes off be carried around all day?

Lulu, the zip-off sections can easily be carried in a day bag. As they're designed for hikers, most of these pants are lightweight and the removable parts take up minimal space.

Yes Lulu- they are unfortunately designated to ugly. BUT they do make anyone that wants to travel in the hot Months in Italy respectable and able to do double duty as shorts and also zip on trouser length when entering religious sites. I’ll see if I can send you an example link in another post... it’s not a recommended link but just something I can send as an example

https://www.rei.com/product/146669/columbia-silver-ridge-convertible-pants-mens?CAWELAID=120217890006295788&CAGPSPN=pla&CAAGID=15885661840&CATCI=pla-155127141400&cm_mmc=PLA_Google%7C404_10200%7C1466690149%7Cnone%7C_kenshoo_clickid_%7Cpla-155127141400&lsft=cm_mmc:PLA_Google_LIA%7C404_10200%7C1466690149%7Cnone%7C_kenshoo_clickid_&kclid=_kenshoo_clickid_&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInNXH0NLy5gIVxMDACh3cdw3AEAQYBiABEgLP1fD_BwE

Wow , this is a really long link. I’m not promoting this but just googled to give you an idea of what I was explaining. Many other price points. Just google if you are interested.