How to dress for dinner in Italy

I have taken 7 RS Tours. Dress for dinner is very casual, usually the same clothes worn that day. No blazer or dress pants or fancy shoes needed. Enjoy the tour and especially your fellow travelers.

Agree with Simpgolf.
No need to change for dinner, though fine if you want to. The tours are quite casual.

While blazers and dress pants are unecessary, I can't imagine going out to dinner after a day of touring without showing and changing clothes first. The only exception being maybe on cold weather touring where you layer up and aren't sweating. Changing into what you will wear the next day can work.

I did the Venice/Florence, Rome tour last year and I wore exactly what I wore during the day. Just regular slacks and a T-shirt. Everyone else did the same thing. Nothing fancy needed at all.

glessarch, are you taking an RS tour? From the sound of your prior posts, it appears as if you are going on an independent trip unless you're joining a tour some time before/after Rome and Assisi?

That said, it really doesn't affect your packing either way unless you plan on dining at posh establishments. We almost never return to our accommodations between the time we leave in the early morning and the time we return in the evening so our dinner clothes are our sightseeing apparel: clean, tidy jeans, nicer shirts/tops and broken-in walking shoes. We've never felt out of place in the mid-range, casual restaurants that are our usual choices for dinner.

Your question about hats? Doesn't matter; wear whatever is most comfortable and works best with your personal style. A flat-type cap will obviously pack well in your case whereas a straw Panama style (summer weight) would have to be worn onto the plane to avoid crushing. You'll see a fair amount of baseball caps too. Whatever hat you choose, just remember to take it off when visiting the churches, OK? :O)

Thank you all. We're doing our own planned trip. I'll keep it casual, as we're not planning on eating at any 5 star ristorantes.

thanks again,

Aric

Yes, it is as casual as the US. The locals don't dress up. We usually just eat what sounds/looks good while we are out and about, so no going back to the Hotel just to change for dinner. Italy comes alive at night, with families walking around, young people hanging out in the various Piazza's (always fun to sit and join them).

My question is how to classy people dress? Like the local gentry, for example, or the upper classes.

We always dress up a little, change clothes to go out to dinner in Italy and elsewhere in Europe.. My dh stopped bringing a sports coat years ago. If a restaurant requires one, we go elsewhere.

My question is how to classy people dress? Like the local gentry, for
example, or the upper classes.

With style.

I’ll make a generalization- Italians do tend to look neater at dinner time, which in less touristy areas begins around 8pm with apertivo earlier.

Their clothes tend to be more fitted than we wear, and they will put on a nice outfit to stroll the passeggiata in the evening to socialize.

My husband wore shorts hiking in the mountains but in the cities wore lightweight dark golf pants and a fitted UnderArmor tee.

I have been to Italy several times and to me it seems in the winter the locals are more dresed up, mink coats, high heals and the like. Summer is more casual. I never wear jeans in Europe, they don't wash and dry in the sink, there heavy to carry. I wear black nice looking travel pants which make me blend better. I am handed a German and English meun as they are not sure where I'm from. Locals ask me directions (at least thats what I think they are asking me). Once I speak the jig is up and they know where I from. I don't wear white tennis shoes either, I wear black. Gym clothes: t-shirts, sweat shirts, tennis shoes, are concidered rude to wear to a restruant. I know others will have a problem with what I'm staying, however speaking and making friends with Europeans I have learned their feelings (good enjough friends that I've stayed in their homes and they have come to the USA and stayed in mine). In Switzerland all the locals wear jeans, hiking books, it's fine in the apls to do so. Southern Spain everybody wears jeans, souther France they wear jeans too but with a blazer and a collerd shirt. Saw an older man in Venice once in lavender sweat pants and top, yelling at the waiter so his english could be understood better, knew right away he was from the USA. LOL so much fun, enjoy your trip. J

If you want to be able to “dress up,” even just a tiny bit, bring a necktie for the one or two dinners where you want to. That, of course, means having a compatible collared shirt.