Can anyone comment please on wearing yoga pants into churches? To my dismay they are all the rage and worn everywhere in Canada? I need to advise my adult daughters for our upcoming trip. I do understand shoulders, and knees need to be covered.
it sounds like St. Peter's in the Vatican is the most conservative re dress. Are sandals also prohibited at St. Peters ? But allowed in other churches?
thanks for all the sound advice and tips everyone. it's a great help :)
Sandals - no problem. Jesus wore them. Yoga pants? Most likely allowed. Most churches don't police clothing. Vatican and places with security guards like San Marco and Santa Maria Maggiore may think twice about it. Do you really want to take the risk over yoga pants? Modesty is always the best approach in churches. Do the obvious - just wear something you know is acceptable like Capri pants. You are already spending a lot of time and money traveling to Italy. Don't jeopardize yourselves like this.
There are so many yoga pant styles. Many look just like pants. Today, who can really tell the difference anymore.
As long as your shoulders are covered and legs are covered to knee lengths, it didn't seem to be an issue last year
when I was there. Many people were there with knee length shorts and just a tee shirt.
What kind of yoga pants? I practice yoga several times a week and have yoga pants that I would wear to any church, except if I was going to one that prohibited women wearing pants. I also have yoga pants that I would never wear into any church. Some of my yoga pants are harem pants, loose fitting or are jogger type pants that are loose fitting through the hips and thighs and those are the ones I wear around town and would wear to a church. Some of my pants are tight all over and I only wear those to yoga or to workout. On my most recent trip to Rome, a guard at the Sistine Chapel came up to my travel companion who was wearing a loose fitting boat neck t-shirt when it slipped off her shoulder and told her that she needed it fix it. He approached her within couple of seconds of when it slipped off her shoulder. She was reaching for it to fix it when he talked to her so our guess is that he wanted to make sure it did not happen again. On that same trip, I also saw a young woman who was basically wearing a bra and Daisy Dukes and they sold her something that looked like a disposable hospital scrub so she could go in so my guess is that at the Sistine Chapel, if they have a problem with yoga pants, they will sell your daughter something to deal with the issue. She would just spend the time in line looking like the human equivalent of a puppy with the big white collar around its neck -- talk about drawing attention. I think the girl I saw got more looks with a disapproving head shake during that wait than most people get in a lifetime but her outfit was just ridiculous given the dress code. The dress codes I have seen specify that bodies must be covered to below the knee so your daughter would be fine that way but they also have a carveout for appropriate so that could be deal breaker for her.
My two cents: You're visiting a place of worship in another country. When in doubt, toss it out (idea wise). If there is any question as to the appropriateness of something, don't do it. Err on the side of respect and propriety. I wore black pants and black capris and a nice shirt when I visited any church. I usually have some sort of scarf with me as well, just in case.
Lisa
Perhaps bring along a long light weight t-shirt, that extends a bit below the bum.
It IS a Church, not the grocery store or health club.
Modesty is what is called for, so any tight clingy body contouring clothing where the shape is excenturated is not within the cultural norm for holy places. Yoga pants will be HOT in Italy, I suggest looser clothing, like cotton capri styles with a bit of stretch...
To avoid any issues I recommend a large thin shawl, or in my case I bring a THIN sarong with me, it covers and serves as a great ground cloth for sitting on grass, ground, grimy steps, and BEACHES!
Enjoy!
If you have to come here and "ask" about the appropriateness then that's probably your answer.
St. Peter's will check things like shoulders and knees being covered. We saw women being turned away for not being appropriately covered.
Because this is a sensitive issue, I would bring along a pair of lightweight capris or even a skirt that covers the knees. Italy is going to be warm, and your daughters will thank you for telling them to bring one piece of clothing that doesn't always stick to them!
If they look like traditional pants, like these from Lucy, I'd say yes:
http://www.lucy.com/shop/get-going-pant-111993
But not the tight, form-fitting ones.
Can anyone comment please on wearing yoga pants into churches?
Yes. As long as knees are covered and the pants are not revealingly tight, they can be worn. Sandals are fine everywhere. But as mentioned, those pants might be very hot in summer so do consider that? Also, do your daughters wear yoga pants to church at home? If not, there's your answer.
"Modesty" is the word. You will be visiting Catholicism's foremost city/country, and Italian churches are, well, churches first and tourist attractions second. I think you get the point? :O)
We've worn clean, tidy jeans on all of our trips to Italy and seen many, many churches (with many others wearing what we have) so it's not about having fancy clothes but nothing overly tight/revealing: no bared midriffs, plunging necklines or bare shoulders.
I wouldn't wear these! 😳
My two cents here...I agree with those who would say that if you wouldn't wear them to church in your hometown, then you shouldn't wear them in churches in conservative Rome or anywhere else in Italy. There are some churches with someone at the entrance who will turn you away if not dressed appropriately, or hand you a scarf to borrow to cover your shoulders. I usually just pack one along and keep it in my bag to use when I enter a church.
My only other thought is that I would be miserable in yoga pants in Rome during the summer months! It can be stiflingly HOT - looser clothing will be much more comfortable.
A church is a church. What you wear to Saint Peter's should be what you wear to any church, even if there is no one to monitor your clothing.
The question is probably raised because you want to be comfortable, but people in these churches to worship want to be comfortable, too, and respecting customs like modest dress in churches will make everyone more comfortable.
Using the standard of what is acceptable attire at the church I attend would be bad idea for deciding what to wear in Italy. On any given Sunday, one third of the people in their thirties or younger in church are in outfits that would get them run out of town at the churches that I used to attend on the East Coast and in the South. It may be a California thing but I have seen women in skirts and dresses that were extremely short (and I mean extremely short -- more like 2 to 3 inches below the rear end) and I have seen leggings with a top, which is just about the same as form fitting yoga pants.
And repeating what others have said -- Italy can be HOT and for me, the natural air conditioning of a mid-knee flowy skirt is better than pants of any length.
I'm agreeing e JHK. I was at a wedding rehearsal in a formal church last week when 3 men had to be asked to remove their hats and a couple of twenty something bridesmaids were not wearing enuf fabric to cover their back sides
