White tennis shoes

I've also read that short pants are not a good choice in Germany, but I have a lot of pictures of Germans wearing short pants. Did they just not get the word from the American gods of fashion.

There are no criminal statutes in Europe pertaining to the length of your pants (maybe whether you wear any in some places, but not the length). Wear what you like.

Does anybody really care?

OK, maybe white tennis shoes with black sox are a little bit over the top, but still, wear what you like to wear.

Nobody cares.

To go along with those white shoes, I'd recommend argyle socks, some white slacks, a white linen shirt, and as an accent color, a bright, cranberry red belt or suspenders (or both!). To complete the outfit and make a real impression, a large white cowboy hat would do the trick.

Seriously...not a single person in Europe will care one bit about what you wear on your feet, or any other part of your body. Really, not a single person. At. All. So wear what you like. For most of us, comfort will/should be the primary consideration, so wear whatever makes you comfortable (even if that's a cowboy hat).

Now, for some practical considerations...

Bright white shoes (or cowboy hats or anything else white) will get dirty, and will eventually be less white than they were when you started the trip. Travel produces grunge. Maybe a little, if you are oh-so-careful and limit your behaviors, maybe a lot (more likely, a lot). You may or may not care about that (others won't). If you care about looking neat, white things are probably not an ideal choice -- it depends what you will be doing (hiking the Camino with a backpack for a month?). Some folks choose clothes for travel that can tolerate a certain degree of dirt and wrinkles and grunge. Others just wear what they wear at home. It's your call, because nobody else will care -- nobody.

Finally: If you are worried about looking like a tourist, stop worrying. You are a tourist, you can not hide that, locals will know you're a tourist no matter how you try to hide that fact. That's OK, you will be surrounded by countless other tourists, some of them wearing white outfits and even a few in cowboy hats. It's all OK.

Cross this off your list of things to worry about, and have a great trip (whatever you decide to wear).

I recently read that white tennis shoes are not a good choice.

Where is this being perpetuated? I read it all the time but it's nonsense.

I wear white trainers, my friends do, my kids do, their friends do, a great deal of people of all ages across the whole continent wear them but equally a great many don't and nobody cares whether you do or not.

Personally I think they look smarter than the multi garish colours of some running shoes that really should be confined to the gym or actual running but as another poster pointed out, they do get dirty easily.

Here's a suggestion? Spend some time with this livecam of Piazza della Rotonda in Rome and see how many (!) pairs of white shoes you see walking about this square.

https://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/italia/lazio/roma/pantheon.html

Yep, the no-white-shoe thing is nonsense. Wear what is comfortable. :O)

Everybody wears white sneakers or canvas shoes in Western Europe these days. Typing this with white sneakers in Paris (and I am French)!

Superga used to make only white shoes and once upon a time they were very fashionable:
https://images.app.goo.gl/5ZDzRWeYzYumYnmy5

The only thing you should really avoid are german-style sandals with knee-high white socks. Only To avoid jokes you wouldn't understand, not because you'd be refused service or something.

They will get dirty. . . . .

I am assuming the advise is because they’ll get dirty?? My shoe guy advised that I get whitening non gel tooth paste and clean mine with that. This is for leather shoes. I am also bringing a pair of older running shoes to wear on “dirt days” such as Mount Etna.

A little story about looking like a tourist. While dining in Paris, a waiter gave me an English menu before I had even said a word. Given that I was wearing a new outfit that I had bought in Paris, I asked, "how did you know I was an American Tourist?" The answer was, "your eyeglasses." So, embrace your tourist-ness. They are happy you're there! And as an aside, we were in Italy in May and people everywhere were wearing white tennis shoes. So as long as you are comfortable with a little dirt showing, you'll be fine.

Old advice. Many white sneakers are fashionable, that depends on the cut and specific shoe but you will see white tennis shoes everywhere. Wear them if you like.

The old advice meant “don’t dress like you are going to the gym” and to some extent that still holds but white shoes are no longer just for the gym.

Now whether white shoes are practical with all the dirt (both on the streets and in ruin type sights with dirt paths), that’s another story!

I live in a tourist city and I've seen it all tennis shoes, flip-flops and even Crocs. To be quite honest, most people won't care. As to the advice not to dress like going to a gym, I've seen tourist in Europe wear sweatshirts with University names on them, leggings and tennis shoes. They may look like tourists but they are.
Where what feels comfortable. The minute you go to a museum or attraction or speak, people will know you are not from there.

Personally I think they look smarter than the multi garish colours of
some running shoes that really should be confined to the gym or actual
running

Uh oh. I'm going to be in Portsmouth for a day in mid-September, I'm warning you now to close your eyes 😁.

It doesn't matter. Wear what you feel comfortable wearing. No matter what you do, it will be obvious that you're not Italian. And that's okay.

Are you asking this from a fashion perspective? And perhaps not actual tennis shoes that you’d use at the gym? I’m going to address it as a current fashion question. We just finished a month in Italy mid-April to mid-May. There were lots of white tennis shoes being worn, although I felt I saw more our last trip to Italy in 2019. I took a pair of white leather with proper inserts and was happy with the choice. The leather wiped up well and I took some of those thin Clorox magic easer sheets for cleaning. The only part that really got dirty was the laces and I could have washed those. You see lots of people wearing them with dresses as well as shorts and pants.

To be honest, no one cares what you wear. That said, I can pick Americans out a mile away, especially those who are wearing t-shirts from their alma mater or baseball hats from the local team. Also a dead giveaway are the short running shorts and other athletic clothing worn as day wear. But again, who cares.

I agree that nobody in Italy cares what you are wearing, but I have certainly observed otherwise in other countries. A few years ago my traveling companion, who had just returned from a trip to South America, was still in that mode, and insisted on continuing in that mode even though the forecast was for very cold icy rain and snow all across Europe which is where we were headed. My packing advice went unheeded, and he dressed like he was going on a safari with khaki cargo pants and a matching light jacket. In Germany and Austria it was 30 degrees F (below freezing in Celsius) in the afternoon, and he was openly stared at, pointed to and laughed at on the street and on the train by other men. As we were leaving our hotel in Salzburg, the hotel clerk ran after us, visibly alarmed, and exclaimed, “Sir, sir you can’t go out like that!”

There was a time, not that long ago, when you would NEVER catch a European wearing white athletic shoes as casual wear.

Really? When? I've been wearing them since childhood and I'm now 46 and I'm far from alone. Dunlop Green Flash were my first then I moved on to Adidas Torsion and so on. All my mates wore them and so did many, many people. I don't know where this false perception comes from!

They now wear them everywhere BUT with black sockettes only, never white ones.

No. Many wear white sockettes with white shoes and black with darker shoes. The trend for younger people at the moment is to wear mid calf socks and the colour is immaterial.

When I first started traveling to Europe in the 90’s nobody but American tourists wore white shoes. They stood out like ostriches in a cow pasture.

Just spent almost a month in Italy… I felt bad that my tennis shoes weren't white or had fun sequence or were gold! Where what you want pack a pair of sandals it's sandal time!

I have no idea where Portsmouth is, but I've witnessed it for years in both Italy and Germany

???

I'll say this... my wife regrets wearing white tennis shoes while in Italy. The streets are pretty dirty and gross and they didn't stay white too long

Someone asked: Where is Portsmouth? Depends on WHICH one..........England, New Hampshire, Virginia, Rhode Island and on and on and on.......................take your pick.

So JC (in Portsmouth) may or may not see Allan's tennies :)

I'm glad white shoes are acceptable now. I like to match my shoes to my belt. 😳

We were in Italy in May. Right now white sneakers with everything is the style. Men and women.

White shoes are SO yesterday, whether tennis or otherwise. Do not allow the fact that Wimbledon tennis comp is happening now to confuse you, white shoes are a no-no.

Birkenstocks with black, I repeat black, socks are what the on trend fashionista is to be seen wearing.

White is in.

https://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/g4585/cool-white-sneakers/

They now wear them everywhere BUT with black sockettes only, never white ones.

I was just “complaining” to my coworkers that my daughter is in Italy wearing black socks with her white sneakers and that I made her pack white socks also. I am now that old parent who is clueless about fashion and finds myself saying “I still don’t get it”.

I don't like the brightly colored athletic shoes, so I usually by New Balance white ones or the grey. White is fine.

Being some wite-out to whiten those white tennis 👟 shoes after a week of traveling. They are gonna need it!

'We were in Italy in May. Right now white sneakers with everything is the style. Men and women.'

Darn it! Now I have to go buy white sneakers before I leave for Italy on Monday!

I remember when I first went overseas in the 80s. You could always tell the Americans because they were wearing athletic shoes. Europeans didn't wear them for daily use. This was especially true for countries like Italy, France and Spain.

Watch vlogs on You Tube for the cities you will be visiting and you will see that almost everyone there is wearing white athletic walking shoes. They are wearing them with everything and shorts are also to be seen as are backless, midriffless outfits for the gals. Almost anything goes except short shorts. Have fun and be comfortable. Wear you most comfortable shoes. Take 2 pairs that are comfortable. Sandals don't give enough support but for the hotel or the beach or pool have a pair also.

I have been watching several you tube vlogs about what to wear and what to pack for Italy. Most of them say , no sneakers. Really??!!! Not true. Several people living in Italy have commented that, that’s not true.
I am on vacation and I refuse to dress in business attire. I cannot relax and enjoy if I am in a blazer/jacket and leather boots. I am comfortable and relaxed in jeans or leggings or linen clothing or dresses/skirts and fashion sneakers(not those flashy, gym sneakers) and walking shoes. I am shopping for fashion sneakers that I can wear with dresses for an upcoming trip to Rome.
I don’t understand why the bloggers say you need to blend in and not look like a tourist. Are we going to get special treatment if we blend with the locals? I am a tourist so I don’t mind looking like a tourist. But we need to respect the culture, the traditions of the country you are visiting and embrace it for the days you are in that country.
We need to research, take some points and dress in/wear what you like and look best in. That’s my take in all the you tube and other vlogs.

recognising a one shot wonder,

my frequently worn white trainers have a gold swoosh on them, bouth at the Oxford Street Nike.

Interestingly, they don't get dirty, and I DO wear them.

To go along with those white shoes, I'd recommend argyle socks, some white slacks, a white linen shirt, and as an accent color, a bright, cranberry red belt or suspenders (or both!). To complete the outfit and make a real impression, a large white cowboy hat would do the trick.

Great advice, though for some variety I suggest they take a Hawaiin shirt as well.