One of the questions that comes up often is: "How should I dress while traveling in Italy ?" There is no short answer to this question, but we can surely give you some tips on how to dress so as not to look out of place when you are in Italy. Dressing as Italians do may also be a matter of security; in bigger cities it may be more secure not to look too obviously like a tourist.

Italians are very fashion-conscious, but more importantly, they are very respectful of traditions and customs, which translates in the way they dress. This means there is no such thing as an Italian dress code, but rather imperceptible, tacit rules, which may remain unnoticed for the untrained eye.

The first thing to know is that Italians adapt the way they dress to the moment of the day, the occasion, and the site or place they are visiting. Some typical examples: no shorts for men in the evening and no tank tops or other shoulder-less clothing when entering a church.

Some clothing combinations may also look funny to Italians, like wearing white socks under trousers or wearing socks with sandals. Reversely, some pieces of clothing always require their complement, for example, closed shoes always need socks. You will find more of these tacit dress rules in our list of dos and dont's below.

Showing respect also means that you dress up according to the level of the place or people you are visiting, even if there is no formal dress code mentioned. Explicit dress codes are relatively rare in Italy, because people usually know how to dress according to the place. This means that in finer restaurants and in luxury hotels you are expected to dress accordingly. Not doing so may be interpreted as offensive or showing disrespect to the place and the other clients. It may also be interpreted as a sign that you expect poor service and you may well end up receiving that as a consequence.

The same goes when you are invited at a (formal) dinner at a friend's home. Of course, it all depends on the type of dinner you are invited to and the level of intimacy you have with your friends, but even close friends will interpret an effort to dress nicely as a mark of respect.

Here's a list with some do's and don'ts. Most of these rules are also valid in other European countries such as France, Spain and Portugal.

Dont's:

- no sweat suits or sports shoes, except if you are doing sports. The only exception to this rule are very stylish, branded sports shoes, but these are usually not white nor flashy and should always look VERY new.

- no tank tops or other shoulder-less clothing in churches or sacred places. It is always a good idea to cover up your shoulders when entering a church. Entering a sacred place with sleeveless or shoulder-less clothing may be interpreted as an insult to the sacred.

- no  oversized shirts or baggy trousers. Italians always wear appropriately sized clothing (younger Italins even like to dress one size smaller than their own size).

- no fanny packs or belt packs.

- no T-shirts, especially not those with funny phrases or big pictures on them (unless they are stamped with the logo of a luxury brand). The only exception to this are relatively tight, good-quality, mono-colored T-shirts, worn under a jacket or pull-over.

- no shorts for men, unless you are heading to the beach or vacationing in a beach resort, and even then prefer them longer (just above the knee). An absolute no-no is wearing shorts with socks or wearing shorts in the evening !

- no flip-flops or thongs in the city.

- no socks in sandals or open shoes

- no open shoes for men in the evening (unless, maybe, in a beach resort).

- a big NO-NO are white socks with trousers ! Socks should always be as discrete as possible and blend in either with the color of the trousers or that of the shoes. White socks are for sports only.

- no short-sleeved shirts for men, especially in more formal places. Italians will rather roll-up their sleeves (not when wearing a tie !) or wear summer shirts (made of thinner cotton or flax). If it has to be short-sleeved, prefer a polo-shirt. An absolute no-no is a tie with short-sleeved shirts !

- no baseball caps

- no bright, flashy colors. In case of doubt, prefer earthy tones, black, marine blue, cream and white. Some red and other stronger colors are fine, but too much red, purple or flashy color combinations may soon look out of place. Pastel colors such as lilac, pastel green, pastel rose and salmon are best reserved for the Summer. The only exception to this are all shades of beige, camel, broken white, ivory and cream white and grey which can be worn all year round.

Do's:

- in case of doubt it is always better to over-dress for a specific situation than the opposite. Remember that for Italians style and elegance is translated by the overall picture, not by some specific attires, such as a tie. Wearing a tie on a jeans or an unperfectly ironed shirt is worse than wearing no tie in a classy suit. The first thing Italians will look at are your shoes and then the quality of the fabrics, rather then what they represent.

- Italian women always wear make-up and have their hair and nails done (especially toe nails), but they hardly wear perfume.

- you can wear jeans (even in more formal situations), as long as they are combined with an elegant jacket or stylish accessories. They should be well-fitting and stylish. Never ever wear a tie with jeans, though.

- for men, always wear socks in closed shoes. The only exception to this are moccasin-style shoes.

- Rome and Milan being fashion capitals, designer labels are always immediately recognizable and considered a sign of elegance (unless it is over-done).

- men wearing a suit should know that shirts without a brest pocket are considered more elegant.