Starting with Morrowind, the clothing/armor in Elder scrolls games has gotten excessively drab/prudish. (maybe overcompensation for Daggerfall?) I'll admit, one of the first things I tend to do in every new Elder Scrolls game is install one of the full clothing replacement mods. (And the second thing *I* do, is typically create some sort of enchanted ring or something that allows me to be able to carry pretty much as much as I want, but that's a different conversation.)

Now sure, I get that armor that looks hot wouldn't neccessarily be terribly effective, (though armor was typically more about deflection, and avoiding being hit in general is a better option, and other arguments for more flexible attire, not to mention the whole "cloth armor ain't gonna do much anyways, it may as well look nice" angle.) So I'll concede that, for the prudish/psuedorealists amongst us, spicier armor probably shouldn't be the default.

So, a compromise. A new set of "fitted" motifs. (or somesuch). In order to create fitted armor, you first need the appropriate motif for the armor you wish to upgrade. Secondly, you would actually need armor of the appropriate style already. Fitting *would* be a visual-only upgrade. So, basically, through the crafting interface there would be another option to "fit" the armor. A list of all the armors you have that are fittable would show up. When you select the armor, it would display the required materials (roughly equal to what the initial armor would have taken to make, along with a single upgrade mat of the appropriate type if the existing armor is already green/blue/etc. (fitted would also take an extra upgrade mat to upgrade) Additionally, it would also show a preview of what the item would look like when worn.

Fitted would (obviously) be more revealing, for both men and women. It would ALSO be bind on equip. Presumably the expense/inability to sell would, however, keep everybody and their brother from always running around in fitted gear.

And, if the Psuedorealism folk protest too loudly, since it's created from a base normal item, there can be a checkbox in the options that will simply show all fitted gear as their normal counterpat.