Jennifer Aniston visiting Vatican / Rome churches

[MissRose]

I was reading on the Daily Mail that she and her current boyfriend were in Rome and also visiting some churches in the Vatican like many tourists do while in the area.  The Daily Mail showed her outfit which would be fine for any tourist in the summer but from what I've read about the Vatican & many older churches, dress codes are in effect where people must dress with some of decency and modesty.    Her outfit - a tank top style shirt and shorts seems to be out of place there unless they handed her something to cover up once inside a church.

I think she committed a faux pas by going to the churches dressed as she was.  If you do a search online for Vatican dress code, I think she either got away big time with her outfit of choice unless she was told she had to buy something inside the church to cover up & look decently modest.   Even when I tour any religious place, I do not wear a tank top and shorts above the knees to show respect for the building.

[camlan]

Well, she only got in if someone decided to allow her to break the dress code. They are pretty strict about having shoulders and knees covered.

I searched out some pictures and it appears she was wearing a short skirt, a tank top and at times a cardigan over the tank top. So maybe someone decided that even though the skirt was a little short, they could allow her in.

Now, if she had been denied entrance and kicked up a fuss, that would have been rude. But it appears that whoever decides on whether visitors are appropriately dressed did allow her in, so she didn't commit a faux pas.

[athersgeo]

I can't speak for the Vatican (never been) but having visited a very large number of important religious sites in Israel (from all three religions) it is entirely probable that they have something for tourists who've dressed for the weather and not the venue. Which, of course, is NOT to say that JA hasn't committed a faux pas - just that I would doubt Jennifer Aniston is the first tourist to be dressed inappropriately.

[Cosmasia]

I don't see how she committed a faux pas. If she got in, they were obviously okay with what she was wearing and/or decided not to do anything about it if they weren't okay with it.

[ClaireC79]

I remember a few years back going to some churches in Malta which had a large selection of sarongs and wraps at the entrance for women to use - I wouldn't be surprised if the Vatican had the same thing

[mlkind1789]

I have a friend who has lived in Italy for many years and she has actually been asked to leave church because her shoulders were not covered.  However, she also told me that many of the churches that are tourist destinations actually tend to have vendors outside selling little paper coverups and such.

I would imagine that JA was appropriately dressed with her cardigan, or they would have denied her access.

[RingTailedLemur]

I remember a few years back going to some churches in Malta which had a large selection of sarongs and wraps at the entrance for women to use - I wouldn't be surprised if the Vatican had the same thing

That's what I was going to say.  Did you go to the Mosta Dome, too?

[Ceallach]

Dont they pass out shawls etc at places where modesty is an issue? Or require the tourist to cover up before entering? I doubt very much that Jen is the only tourist in Rome dressed that way. I think the story is a beat up - unless they have photos of her stripping inside a church, I doubt she has done anything offensive.  For all we know she has an assistant or bodyguard nearby who will pass her an appropriate over garment before she goes into anywhere it is required.

[Sterling]

I went to the Vatican and they didn't care about my legs.  They asked that I cover my shoulders and had wraps for sale at the door for less than $5 euros.  I am sure that she wore a wrap.

[StuffedGrapeLeaves]

I went to the Vatican and they didn't care about my legs.  They asked that I cover my shoulders and had wraps for sale at the door for less than $5 euros.  I am sure that she wore a wrap.

This was my experience, too.  I carried a cardigan and wore it going in, and no one said anything.  I agree that there is no faux pas here.  It is likely that she put on whatever garment is required to enter the Vatican, and took it off when she got outside. 

[Sharnita]

Out of curiosity, are men required to cover their shoulders too? 

[Kiara]

Sharnita -

Yes.  No bare shoulders and no bare knees for either sex.  And I know my parents said there wasn't anyone selling shawls by the door - the Vatican wouldn't let them on the property.  They'd be at the edge of St. Peter's Square, probably.

[immadz]

Sharnita -

Yes.  No bare shoulders and no bare knees for either sex.  And I know my parents said there wasn't anyone selling shawls by the door - the Vatican wouldn't let them on the property.  They'd be at the edge of St. Peter's Square, probably.

You can get it outside the Vatican and when I went there were notices saying exactly that. I don't see how Jennifer Aniston was in the wrong at all over here. Unless she kicked up a fuss over not being allowed in.

[Aeris]

Jennifer Aniston didn't do anything particularly wrong, from what we know. She dressed like nearly every other tourist to the Vatican/other churches in Italy in the summer. She had a cardigan *with her* so there's no need to even suppose she needed to buy an emergency shawl at the door of a church.

Unless you actually seen photos of her *inside* the locations in question with her shoulders uncovered, I don't really understand why you'd leap to the conclusion that because there are photos of her in a tank top *on her way* to the locations, that she must have worn the exact same thing inside.

My experience of waiting in line at the Vatican (and other tourist church locations) is that 90% of the women in line are dressed insufficiently, and as they get to the door they whip out a shawl, cardigan, etc.

[Yvaine]

Jennifer Aniston didn't do anything particularly wrong, from what we know. She dressed like nearly every other tourist to the Vatican/other churches in Italy in the summer. She had a cardigan *with her* so there's no need to even suppose she needed to buy an emergency shawl at the door of a church.

Unless you actually seen photos of her *inside* the locations in question with her shoulders uncovered, I don't really understand why you'd leap to the conclusion that because there are photos of her in a tank top *on her way* to the locations, that she must have worn the exact same thing inside.

My experience of waiting in line at the Vatican (and other tourist church locations) is that 90% of the women in line are dressed insufficiently, and as they get to the door they whip out a shawl, cardigan, etc.

I agree, so very very much. I think sometimes on this board people jump to the conclusion that someone was rude without knowing what actually happened.