FEATURE When in Italy, Dress as the Italians by Kaylee Denmead
When seeking advice on how to pack for Italy, I asked everyone who might be able to clue me in on what I should and shouldn’t take. It’s quite the task to fit nine months and four seasons of clothing (and shoes) into two suitcases. During packing stress, I even turned to Google to ask the all - knowing World Wide Web: what in the world do Italians wear? The results of this search insulted my American sensibilities. No shorts, less scandalous clothing, less skin showing, neutral colors, important brand names, better quality and, over and over, I saw the word classy. I judged the articles as biased but, having been here for about a month, I am now writing a similar article myself. I have realized that American style as a whole, though the Fashion Institute of Technology is a bit of an exception, just isn’t as classy as style in Italy. Sorry fellow fashion students, prepare to be slightly pained by what comes next! Florence is a bustling city and also one that goes on vacation for the month of August. That’s right; for an entire month many stores close down and the homeowners shuffle out of the city for vacation to escape the arid heat during this time. Upon arrival, I cursed Google for telling me not to pack shorts. As three weeks of my stay has come and gone, I have realized that the no shorts advice, while exaggerated, is pretty true. Florentines have been returning to the city and I have come to tell the difference between the locals and the Americans in just a glance. In Florence, the population is about 300,000 and the number of American students studying here at a given time has risen up to 5,000 in the past few years. Marie Claire wrote an article in 2010 stating, “Italian women tend to go for classic, designer - clad ensembles while New York, on the other hand, pushes the envelope.” That being said, as an
American student, it’s easy to pick out the many others based on a few key factors, style being the main one.
the elegance of Italian dressing. A stand - out American look of athletic apparel to run errands would make a Florentine woman cringe (even if the leggings are from Lululemon). Men here are in a completely different ballpark than guys at home (swoon). The well - dressed guys that you find on Tumblr and in H&M ads actually
“WHEN HEADING TO ITALY, PREPARE NOT ONLY TO STEP UP YOUR FASHION GAME BUT TO ENTER AN ENTIRELY NEW ONE.” Photo courtesy of Kaylee Denmead The consistency of American dress is slightly sloppy and very relaxed. I believe that many people were told similar advice to mine: classier, more refined. I truly think American college students (or maybe all Americans) have no idea what that means in comparison to Italians. Here in Florence you can see the lack of style in day - to - day life that Americans are too lazy to care about. While the main uniform for females is maxi skirts and crop tops, jeans and tees and the bare minimum of fabric when going out at night is regular and obvious, here it clashes with
exist; they all live in Italy. Trim trousers, sleek button ups, fitted vests and jackets and sexy loafers sum up a daily look for Italian men. You won’t find a guy in gym shorts or grungy hipster apparel here. Classy seeps through the pores of Italians every single day. My landlady Maria kindly came by after my first week to check on me and entered my apartment in small wedge heels, fitted trousers, a silk blouse, cropped jacket, hair done and makeup. I silently questioned who was the fashion student. While my International Buying and Marketing professor Fabianna Vannucchi will tell you the new generations are
becoming trendier, the older generations frown upon this fact. When asking Vannucchi’s opinion she responded with, “I would say that we Italians have more style, more taste, more sense of beauty and more creativity.” Harsh, isn’t it? She went on to describe Americans as “practical” which “reflects in their fashion.” As much as I’d love to say this was the only opinion that summed us up as fashion innate, there sadly is more. Professor Inger Cristoffersen has 12 years of experience teaching American students in Italy. She said, “I find the Italian students more focused on quality and classic styles and they have more individual tastes than the American students. The American students are more brand focused, but often avoid to stand out too much.” It seems that the American students are identical molds of what’s “in” at a specific time in just about every high school and college except our own (just some quick FIT pride). High - waisted denim shorts and crop tops are the newest fast fashion trend and for many females, they don’t want to set themselves apart. For men, what’s wrong with dark denim and a button up to go out at night and relaxed gym shorts during the day? Easy and inexpensive, it’s clear that most Americans don’t believe in quality over quantity, which is a rule Italians live by. While my Google search feels like it happened years ago, just a month has passed and I have my own sense of Italian fashion advice. When heading to Italy, prepare not only to step up your fashion game but to enter an entirely new one. It’s a game that’s new to me, but after relaxing in the New York version I have come to love, it’s refreshing to play on someone else’s turf.
FIND ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS HERE: WWW.FITNYC.EDU/STUDYABROAD