by Alexa Serrechia | Before arriving in Rome, I was told countless times that women here dress much more conservatively than in the United States. I packed several dresses and skirts and left more of my shorts at home. Now that I’ve been here for four days, I’ve noticed similarities and differences between our customs of dress.
I expected to see more skirts and dresses than at home, however many women here wear jeans just like us. However, hardly any wear shorts and more do tend to wear skirts than in America.
Since I am half Italian and have taken a few semesters of Italian, I want to try to blend in more than stick out. My goal by the end of my five weeks here is for locals to not be able to immediately pin me as a tourist. Part of this comes with dressing like the locals. Therefore, for my first day of class, I chose a more conservative outfit. There was a forecast of rain today, but it turned out to be a beautiful day. The sun was out and the weather was comfortable. I wore these green capris from New York & Co., a light purple tank top and a flowery sweater from Old Navy. I completed the look with a fun necklace, belt, and sandals. This type of outfit is both comfortable for walking around during the day and cute for grabbing lunch or shopping in the “piazzas,” or the squares.
To anyone planning to travel to Italy soon, I would suggest bringing lots of dresses/skirts and pants, but not many shorts. Bring a few pairs for really hot days, but otherwise it’s best to go for the dresses and skirts. For me, the differences in wardrobe here are allowing me to wear clothes that I haven’t worn before but that aren’t necessarily typical at home. It is unusual to wear skirts and dresses at college, so I often feel like I stick out at school. But here in Rome, this isn’t a problem at all! I would say jeans are also perfect because many people do wear them here, and everyone loves a great pair of jeans!
About Alexa
Alexa is a junior at Iona College in New Rochelle, NY, where she is a member of the Phi Sigma Sigma sorority and a journalist for The Ionian. Follow her fashion journey and musings here on WeareverTheWeather.com as she makes her way through Rome, Paris and in between. Also, check out her fabulous blog and subscribe to her YouTube channel for awesome lifestyle, fashion and beauty tips.
