[@Buddha] Oh, I wasn't aware that the second style exists in classical literature - I took literature as a subject in middle and high school where the texts I have to study are classics, but I've never come across the second style at all, lol. I'll just take your word for it since I don't know how the books in Netherlands are like.

Also, personally I don't italicize my speeches just to differentiate them from descriptions, because anyone who knows how to read should be able to tell them apart easily. I reserve the use for italics for either emphasis (sometimes when people talk you have the tendency to emphasize certain words to get your point across to others), or if it's to denote the speech is spoken in a different language (i.e. the character is not speaking English, but the dialogue is still written in English so the readers can understand what the speech is about). 

[sub]Nowadays I avoid - or just refuse - to color code character speeches altogether. It's simply a pain in the ass.[/sub]

When it comes to writing, since it is text-based - which is visual - so depending on the situation, the paragraph size, indentation, etc. can feel iffy to the writer at times (especially for those who like things to look neat and proper, or at least visually pleasing). However, I feel that in character speeches and dialogues, the sound is more important than the looks - I mean, dialogues are supposed to be spoken text, just in visual form. I'd pay more attention to the sound rather than how it looks to me.