written by Mia Romero
Coming to a new country by yourself can be scary, but learning how to fit into the culture can be even scarier. This is my experience witnessing fashion styles in Florence and learning to adapt to them myself.
Fashion is the style of clothing, hair, makeup, shoes, and so on, used by humans globally to express themselves. Fashion and the idea of fashion goes back centuries, but more specifically, the 19th century. In 1858, Charles Frederick became the first person ever to sew his label into garments he created, thus being the first “fashion designer” as we know it. Since then, fashion and style has elevated, changed, and adapted to different environments and to an array of people.
The biggest elevation of fashion I’ve ever noticed has been coming to Italy from the states. The people in Italy seem well-dressed, put together, and more understanding of expression through fashion. I have not noticed any locals wearing athleisure casually or sleepwear outside of the house, as I would see in America. I believe this is because Europe as a whole houses many of the main fashion capitals of the world. These capitals host weeks out of the year dedicated to showing off creative expression. It is an integral part of their culture and daily lives. It seems to be more respected and understood over here than in America. These events shape the trending styles to come and are watched carefully by locals as well as people all over the world.
I became intrigued with these fashion differences I noticed, so I decided to interview, research, and photograph my surroundings. I have found it extremely fascinating to witness my fellow students from all different parts of the world dressing well to class to fit into Italian style. I would argue none of us would dress as nicely for class at our home colleges.
I had a personal experience of wearing a hoodie and sweatpants around my hotel lobby and getting strange looks from all different types of people, from different areas of the world. It has become a known standard to dress well when out in Italy. After this experience I became much more aware of how I was leaving my apartment as well as how everyone else was.
During this time and the next few days, I was lucky enough to have a conversation with a local about her thoughts on fashion in Florence and Italy as a whole. I met a lady standing in line for a coffee shop who was dressed impeccably. She wore a blazer with dress pants and what looked to be red bottom heels. I could tell this was an expensive and well put together look. I began to tell her about my school journaling assignment and her thoughts on fashion differences worldwide. She explained to me that dressing well had always been the standard for her. She said, “Growing up, my mother and father dressed us in our best and it was expected of us as we grew. This was normal. I never saw my mother without beautiful hair or a nice dress on.” I found it interesting how she explained to me that it was normal to dress nicely and this had been instilled in her since childhood. I believe this to be the disconnect between fashion in Italy from other countries in the world. Parents are less expecting of what their child wears in other countries, thus holding lower standards in my opinion.
Although I discussed this topic with a few other locals, I got very similar responses across the board. The overall consensus being that dressing well had started during childhood and become a social norm. As an American student, I envy the fashion sense these interviewees held. Anyone can buy an expensive outfit, it was the way they styled these outfits that stood out to me. They each had something people around the world try to achieve, which is knowing how to style themselves perfectly. Overall, I grew in my knowledge of stylish appearance and the standards in different parts of the world.
Photo by author