Italian men don’t generally dress as nicely as the women.  Travis previously described this phenomenon after visiting Madrid.  Spanish women would be dressed extremely well, with care taken to select outfit, fix hair, apply perfect makeup, smell nice, etc.  He described the Spanish men as looking like they just came from the soccer pitch or just rolled out of bed.  Despite the caliber of their dates, the men were in wrinkled clothes, looked somewhat unkempt (messy hair, unshaven) and would be in jeans regardless of their partner’s outfit. 

This same principle seems to apply to Italian men except that more men here have mullets.  Even Valentine’s Day didn’t necessarily bring out the fine outfits for the men. 

The other main accessory is the cigarette which seems to be everywhere.  David Beckham’s hair from 8 years ago, the ‘shark fin’, is also popular as are fur-edged jackets for men.  Mysteriously popular to me is the pseudo-American clothing.  These items are generally brightly colored letter jackets (all knit, no leather) that says ‘North Carolina Champions’ and has a giant appliqué of the state of Texas.  No mention of Texas and no shape of NC to be found on the jacket.  Another jacket patch stated ‘Alaska power’ and showed the outline of Alaska with a rifle-scope sight in the middle.  It’s unclear to me if this is related to some Alaska separatist movement, the Alaska electric company, or just general nonsense. At least the outline of the state was correct. 

Many of the streets of Rome are covered in cobblestones.  It’s pretty, and very European, and works well with the narrow streets and sidewalk cafes.  The big mystery (for me) is how Italian women actually make it from point A to point B without breaking an ankle. 

The standard winter shoe for Roman women is the stiletto boot with blue jeans or black pants tucked inside.  Generally the jeans look like they need pliers to get them all the way on, and the boot heels are all 3+ inches and very, very narrow.  Definitely narrow enough to fit between cobblestones and cause a catastrophe.  Even with the hours of tromping around Rome, I’ve yet to see a single stiletto-boot wearer get a heel stuck between stones or take a tumble. Clearly there is some special Roman gene that prevents this. 

Travis’s favorite female outfit is the crocheted poncho (remember those?) with pom-pom balls hanging off