How to Dress

Italy has a reputation for being one of the most stylish places on the planet, as well as having some of the best looking people one has seen. When one visits Italy, right away you can tell that the style of dress of the Italian people is very specific and unique to their reputation. However, what you may not realize right away is that this unique style that Italians live is a way for Italians to communicate things about themselves to other Italians. How you dress yourself is a very important aspect to Italians when communicating whether it is with or without words.

            For centuries people have used dress and looks to uncover or decipher certain attributes of other people without having to question them. For example the way you dress can often times indicate to others something more permanent like your age, sex,  what your socioeconomic is, even things like personality, values, and attitudes. (Knapp & Hall, 2009) In Italy everyone is obsessed with making sure that the people each person they see is impressed by them. They call this obsessive mentality, “la bella figura”. (Facaros & Pauls) Clothing is one of the ways la bella figura is conveyed among other ways. Italians have always been crazy fashion lovers and show it off. For example it is said that when going into a large city, shorts are never ever worn and jeans are always worn along with very high quality attire and the even clothing in America that we wear for formal occasions can be seen in an Italian’s casual attire. Men also wear strictly Italian clothing work and in highly sophisticated and proper suits. You won’t see too many business casual days in Italy. Women will even wear dresses that accent the local brick or the stone in their own areas. (Winter & Jermyn, 2003) Italians seem to always be wearing the flashiest, newest, and highest quality attire. This says a lot about how important dress is to Italians and how from the moment that you are seen you have already been analyzed and judged based solely on dress. A person’s entire persona is determined jus from first glance in Italy.

            So if you are ever curios about exploring the beautiful country that is Italy, here are some things you might want to be mindful of. When traveling out and about in the cities, make sure to look sharp. Otherwise you may catch a few disapproving or condescending looks. Also don’t feel alarmed if you feel under-dressed. Italians are all one-uppers when it comes to looking their best. It’s not that they think they are better than you, it is in their culture and part of the norm to be extravagantly or overly dressed. It is how they keep their “la bella figura” standard that they are so proud of. As long as you do your best to wear clothing that is similar or familiar to the local Italians, you shouldn’t come across any problems.

  Happy Trails!

  Parker Graham

References:

Winter, J. K., & Jermyn, L. (2003). Cultures of the world. (2nd ed.). Cavendish, Marshall Corporation.

Facaros, D., & Pauls, M. (2004). Italy. (5th ed.). London: Cadogan Guides.

Knapp, M. L., & Hall, J. A. (2009). Nonverbal communication in human interaction. (7th ed.). Stamford, CT: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.