North and central Florida are a place to kick back, go almost anywhere in jeans, and forget about high heels and neckties. If you want to dress up, opportunities abound in almost every part of the region, especially in the larger cities and in Tallahassee. Suits are seen in business areas but jackets are rarely required at restaurants. You might bring one for special splurges at, say, the Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island or Victoria & Albert’s at Walt Disney World. For both men and women, chic resort wear is the uniform of the day. Don’t get too tropical. Some restaurants refuse service to diners who are barefoot or too bare on top. Some of the tonier resorts require proper tennis, polo, golf, or croquet attire.
Bring both a sweater and jacket late fall through early spring, to layer in case you need both. Be prepared for sudden showers in summer and fall. Winter rains tend to be long, dreary, pre-frontal drizzles. An umbrella in summer also helps protect against the pitiless sun. Beach shoes are a plus in case you run into patches of shell rubble. Bring hats for fun, fashion, and sun protection.
If you’ll be hiking the outback, bring sturdy shoes to protect against all the vines, thorns, bites and stickers that lie in wait. Sandals and sneakers won’t do. Once, while we were running playfully on the beach along an overgrown dune line strewn with storm-tossed limbs and shells, I stepped on a board that had a six-inch nail in it. It went through my sneaker like butter.