Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are heading to Italy and facing the same thing. Pick out one or two cute midi or maxi sundresses and have her wear those on the days you visit houses of worship. That will cover her knees, and then the shawl can cover shoulders.

Can teen boys show their knees?

It might vary by country, but in Italy, shorts weren’t allowed in a church we visited.

So boy/men wear pants – good to know we have not planned to bring any pants as we’re going to be there in July.

NP. When we visited Italy in August years ago, my then elementary age son & DH wore pants for this reason, despite the heat.

Anonymous wrote:How is this a question?

If your kid can not go to the store pick out a shawl or cardigan and a longer skirt for a few days of travel you raised a twat.

Why are you even going?

I am not religious I don’t believe in modesty could care less but this is not complicated. Respect is taught OP you failed . Please do not do this trip no one wants your family of inconsiderate dummies coming to their country.

Good writing is also taught. It looks like your teachers failed.

Many churches in Italy and Spain house magnificent works of art and are themselves architectural marvels. So if you have any interest in art, history, or architecture, you may be visiting a fair number of churches. Please don't deliberately violate the posted dress code (usually images in addition to words in English, Italian, Spanish) in the hope that they will not enforce it if you pretend ignorance. That's not a good reflection on your countrymen either. I'm kind of surprised your daughter hasn't run into objections here at home (school, church, part-time job, etc) if her everyday summer clothes show that much skin. Maybe the trip will be an "ediucation."

Anonymous wrote:pack a long skirt (old navy or target should have something) and a sweater or something to cover her shoulders and stomach - she can throw them in her backpack and put them on before going into the churches and take them off when she is done. and maybe buy a longer t-shirt or 2 for the trip.

This is what we did in both Italy and Thailand--carried a maxi skirt that she could slip over her shorts and a cardigan or shawl. We went to both in the middle of August, so it was very hot, and this worked well. But I agree with pp--how many churches are you going to? My kids were bored after 1 or 2 unless there was something truly unique about them.

Anonymous wrote:Hollister has some basic fitted tees right now you could get. One version is almost bathing suit material but another is cotton (DD strongly preferred these).

They are just simple and classy but fitted and stylish. Come in white, black, navy and pale pink.

She doesn’t need to dress like a middle aged woman or a pilgrim. But it’s ok to teach your kids to dress for the occasion. I told my daughter you don’t need to be super modest, but Europe is not a frat party, so don’t dress like it is. She actually found some great cathedral/art museum appropriate tops at Hollister and Pac Sun (with my guidance).

Comical that there are no situations in the US for these families that warrant “appropriate respect” with modesty.

How is this a question?

If your kid can not go to the store pick out a shawl or cardigan and a longer skirt for a few days of travel you raised a twat.

Why are you even going?

I am not religious I don’t believe in modesty could care less but this is not complicated. Respect is taught OP you failed . Please do not do this trip no one wants your family of inconsiderate dummies coming to their country.

I didn’t notice any issues in Spain, though it wasn’t quite summer weather/dress so I can’t say for sure. It wasn’t like Venice where the men at the entrance were sizing up tween and teen girls and making them buy wraps from the stands outside.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are heading to Italy and facing the same thing. Pick out one or two cute midi or maxi sundresses and have her wear those on the days you visit houses of worship. That will cover her knees, and then the shawl can cover shoulders.

Can teen boys show their knees?

It might vary by country, but in Italy, shorts weren’t allowed in a church we visited.

So boy/men wear pants – good to know we have not planned to bring any pants as we’re going to be there in July.

In many countries men in shorts is just considered weird

Oh- and what I meant to say is - it IS rude

Anonymous wrote:Showing belly, shoulders, and legs at knee or above will always be an issue. Even if they don’t forbid you from entering they will consider you very rude. Bring large shawls and sarongs if you can’t dress decently all the time.

It makes me feel like I'm 100 to say this - it's SHOCKING to me how Americans teens dress. I've been out of the country for many years but in the past 5 or so I can't really believe it

We traveled Spain and Italy in the dead of summers with everyone wearing shorts. The only time we had an issue was the Vatican, and they gave my teen daughter a disposable wrap she had to put around her waste to cover her legs. They also made men who were wearing tank tops cover their shoulders. In Italy there were people selling shawls outside of churches claiming you needed it to enter, but we never purchased one and never were denied entry.

Anonymous wrote:Some churches make you wear these big paper bibs. Show your kid that and they'll play ball on carrying a backup.

My experience is personally that carrying a cardigan and popping it on was sufficient. They were much more strict about shoulders than knees from what I saw (I was generally wearing jeans). But you could find a.long skirt with an elastic band that could be rolled up and carried in a purse and just slip that on over shorts as a backup.

This is a good idea.

Personally I’d just do sundresses and a shawl.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are heading to Italy and facing the same thing. Pick out one or two cute midi or maxi sundresses and have her wear those on the days you visit houses of worship. That will cover her knees, and then the shawl can cover shoulders.

Can teen boys show their knees?

It might vary by country, but in Italy, shorts weren’t allowed in a church we visited.

I suspect that it varies by church, more so than by whole country.

We were in Italy recently and visited a church in Florence one day when my teen son was wearing shorts. There were signs saying that shoulders and knees should be covered, so we were prepared to be turned away. But the people who sold us tickets and took those tickets at the entrance let us in without paying any attention to what our son was wearing. There were other men and boys in the church wearing shorts, so it didn’t seem to be an issue.

But it would be best to be prepared by bringing a pair of pants for your son on the trip if there are any particular churches that you would hate to miss. Although I do think that most places that strictly enforce their dress codes will have the paper cover ups available.