5 style mistakes not to make at restaurants in summer

In the years of "I dress how I want" it often happens that we place the importance of our self-expression above the norms of social decorum - especially when we are in restaurants. How often do you happen to walk past the patio of a nice seaside restaurant in the evening and see the ever-present American tourist dressed as if he is going to climb a mountain in a T-shirt and technical sandals? Some will say that as long as one pays the bill in the end one can dress as one likes, that's one's own business - but it is not so. The way we dress and show ourselves to others affects, if not directly others, at least the social context in which we find ourselves. Being able to adapt to our surroundings is a sign of maturity and intelligence, as well as self-critical ability, not submission to social conventions-as long as it is done with a minimum of personality. There is nothing more arrogant or selfish than the pretense of not adapting your clothes to our environment. Far from wanting to sound like Alain Elkann on the train to Foggia, it must be said that seeing people in bathing suits, whiskering T-shirts, and swaddling glasses at the upscale sea-view bistro not only poisons the vibe of the entire room, but could also undermine the pleasure inherent in tasting a fresh shrimp or some good pasta. Finally, there is no possible excuse to being slovenly: no one should ever be in the position of being told, as in the famous scene from Mad Men, «you don't need money to dress better than you do». Before you start waving your torches and pitchforks in the air, though, a disclaimer: we're talking here about evening etiquette or formal dining - your little lunch at the beach chalet is safe from our critiques.

So here are 5 style mistakes to avoid at a summer restaurant.

1. No toes allowed

The reasoning is easy: cozy as it is, a restaurant is not your front porch. But there is also another reasoning: no one, while eating, should have toes in their field of vision. If for the ladies a delicate sandal is allowed (but ladies often enough care about their pedicures) the rest of the world is advised against it. Want to go eat oysters in Birkenstocks? Free to do so, just as others are free to judge you. Do you want to go in rubber flip-flops? That borders on criminal offense. The only exceptions: if the sandal is objectively stylish (if it has Velcro attachments or is made of synthetic material it is not stylish, by the way); if the pedicure was done as precisely as a surgical procedure; if the look is completely impeccable.

2. Put the gains away

With the boom of gym culture and the wave of metrosexuality 2.0 symbolized by Ryan Gosling's Ken, a large number of young men, with the boldness typical of their age and that sense of mechanical and uncritical rebellion against social conventions, have taken to going to restaurants in tank tops. Now, posited that tank tops can also be quite sexy in more informal and divertidos social settings, wearing one to a restaurant is a bit like going to a wedding in sneakers: maybe that's all you have in your closet, maybe you think the rules don't apply to you, maybe you feel "modern," maybe you don't know how to dress. Pass the tank top under a shirt but, in general, no one wants to see your armpits while eating their fish entrées or, worse, the regrowth of your two-day-old waxing.

3. The wrong shorts

Unlike others, we will not tell you that short pants are universally wrong. But there are shorts and shorts. If a not-too-short short, with a nice pence and in a fine fabric/color may be passable for a beach-adjacent dinner or otherwise not too formal, and in any case in the presence of nice-looking legs; any shorts even remotely sporty or with cargo pockets, with laces or frills hanging down is downright sloppy. There's no getting around it: even worse if it comes down past your knee like a Capri pant - no restaurant is so casual as to merit such an outfit. If you have difficulty deciding on this specific point use the Gianni Agnelli method i.e. ask yourself. «Would Gianni Agnelli wear this?» If the answe is no, well, you have an answer.

4. A baseball hat

Let's see. You are a teenager or an adult who feels young, growing up you listened to all the hip-hop you could get your hands on, and for you the essence of your style is one of those baseball caps that, in the heyday, 50 Cent or John Cena wore with their own insouciance. Another scenario: you've looked at one too many "Old Money Aesthetic" moodboards and convinced yourself that you are some member of the Kennedy family vacationing in Hyannis Port or on the streets of New York City, but also an emulation of Ralph Lauren in the 1990s. In all these cases you might think that wearing a baseball cap to a restaurant is acceptable, even "youthful" and cool. You are wrong. You eat with your head uncovered - period.

5. The Hawaiian shirt

You are finally on vacation, feeling ironic and alternative, and decide to wear a nice Hawaiian shirt wherever you go. On the beach? Perfect. For dancing? Maybe fun but, I mean, you have to make it work for you. To a restaurant? Go to jail without passing the go.