guardian.co.uk0,12576,1130614,00.htmlOpen ↗ Italian men ditch their vests in
favour of exotic holidays
Sophie Arie in Rome Sunday January 25, 2004 The Observer
Amid the turmoil of the Parmalat scandal and debate over whether Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is
'more equal' before the law than others, a small but significant bit of news slipped out. Italians
no longer wear vests. The government has officially consigned the classic, white sleeveless garment
to the national dustbin.
Istat, the government statistics office, has informed the country that the humble vest, for decades
a symbol of Italy's sweating and toiling working class, has been demoted from the national shopping
basket, a list of staples used to calculate inflation. .................