Just got back this week, and can report that pink is the new black. Italians in Venice, Tuscany and Rome are wearing pink shirts, LOTS of men were wearing pink polo shirts; we saw lots of polo shirts of all colors on men and women, all with the collars turned UP; lots of loose capri pants on men and man-purses, and loads of denim jeans on Italian men, women and children and on German and American tourists, including jean jackets. We saw so many men wearing pink shirts, especially vacationing in Venice and Siena, that we started counting them. We actually saw a guy with a shirt that said, "real men wear pink," and saw lots of pink and even purple pants on men.
Men in Montreal have been wearing pink shirts for months now. Pink pants not so much!
I'm not sure pink will be the primary fall color, however. If you want to blend in, pink in the cooler months probably won't do it for you.
In May, I found that the color was purple or some variation. One store in Venice had nothing but purple(ish) clothing throughout the store. The shirts and ties on the mannequins in the menswear shops all had some variation of purple. I did see one guy in Venice dressed head to toe in pink though. Since fashion trends are started in Europe, what you see on the racks here has already been done over there. It's hard to keep up with.
The Luisa Spagnola shops are pretty famous for their monochrome windows - another Luisa -
LUISAVIAROMA - is the cutting edge boutique here in Florence if you want to see what the fashionistas are drooling over. It isn't pink or purple :)
Purple was big this year in DC. I added a tie to my wardrobe after shopping a month for something that was purple (but still masculine). Lots of people were wearing purple/lavender shirts, blouses, dresses, accesories. I just stuck with a tie - but got a lot of compliments on it.
With so many attractive pink, purple and lavender options to choose from, why would male tourists keep wearing their ugly tourist clothes?
Well Niel, for a couple of reasons. The first being that no matter what color I wore, I wouldn't look even close to a stylish Italian. A friend once told me that the worst dressed Italian is better dressed than the best dressed American.
The other reason is, Im on vacation. Although I want to look nice, I'm not going to spend hours fretting over a wardrobe.
Holy Moly! Denim is in? Does that include my Wranglers?
Why not just ask yourself, “What would Valentino wear this year?” Then, head over to Neiman Marcus and get out the plastic. You’ll then be the best dressed tourist on the bus!
I just got back from a week in Venice, but I must say I didn't notice the pink theme. However, what is unmistakable is how stylish the Italians are, it seems to look to effortless for them -- it's about great quality, never over or under dressed, impeccable taste, such sense of style. I loved it, and came back inspired to polish up my own wardrobe.
I was in Italy two weeks ago and did not notice a lot of pink. I noticed more colors in Rome but as I headed north, the fall colors are definitely in as the weather is getting cooler.