The fashion-conscious Italians - the ones who spend hours trying to attract admiring glances by parading in the latest haute couture - have spent this summer coming to terms with the most distressing fashion dilemma to face them in years.
Since April 1st (I fool you not) Maserati, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and even Fiat drivers have been queuing up from Rome's elegant Via Condotti to Milan's prestigious Via Montenapoleone to buy the very latest, and most unflattering, unisex jackets to come out of the design capital of Europe.
Signori et signorine across Italy have been faced with the dilemma of which Gucci trousers or Prada bag will go with the most unsexy garment ever to worm its way into their otherwise delicious wardrobes.
Since April's Fools Day, every car owner in Italy - and there's well over 33 million of them - has been required by law to carry a pair of his and her matching florescent reflective jackets in his or her cars. Forget Valentino or Vuitton, the only label these jackets must have is a CE mark to show they meet EU requirements.
However, in a move that may have been aimed at placating the fashionista, the Italian authorities have allowed buyers a choice of two colours - day-glo orange or blindingly bright yellow - to help them match the jackets to their shoes.
The new law, which has also now been adopted by Spain, is aimed at increasing safety for motorists whose cars break down at night, something with which Italians are all too familiar.
The driver and passenger must wear the offending item when they step out of their broken-down car at night or face an on-the-spot fine of up to €138. In Spain the fine is slightly less, but then, one supposes, there are fewer objectors.
Irish motorists should take heed. Although the Department of Transport confirms that there are no plans for such a law here, tourists must carry at least two of the jackets.
A number of tourists have already fallen foul of the new law this summer and have been fined for failing to don their radiant coats. A number of others have been found still in their cars after breaking down on busy roads because they knew that stepping out without a jacket will cost them dearly.
There is, however, some hope for those who forget to load their jackets and then breakdown: if they can get away from the roadside without being spotted, the penalties no longer apply.
Such is the confusion over the need to carry the jackets and indeed other safety equipment when driving from one EU country to another that the Alliance Internationale de Tourisme (AIT), the umbrella organisation for motoring groups across Europe, has written to the UN for clarification.
It quotes the Vienna Convention of 1968, which states that the laws of the road apply the country one is driving in, but the laws regarding the equipment that must be carried apply to the country where the car originated from at the outset of its journey.
However, until a response is forthcoming and because of the local authorities' apparent keenness to enforce the new laws (a British motorist got an on-the-spot fine from a Spanish office for not carrying the jackets 12 months before the law was even enacted), the AA recommends that, when driving through Italy and Spain, motorists carry at least two reflective jackets in the passenger compartment.
"Discussions with motoring groups, road and police authorities, and tourist boards for Italy and Spain have produced conflicting advice on the implementation of the new law," explained Andrew Howard, road safety head for the AA Motoring Trust.
"The Italian and Spanish tourist offices have now confirmed that police in both countries say drivers must carry reflective jackets in their cars at all times. In Italy, the law applies to all roads, but in Spain it applies only on motorways, main and busy roads.
"They also say that vehicle occupants who can stand safely at some distance from the road don't need to wear reflective jackets. They must not stand on or near the edge of the road, or loiter in and out of the car without a jacket. However, our advice is to take fluorescent jackets with you and always use them when necessary."