Aviation 'apparel' around here at the moment consists of wellington boots, mud-spattered trousers and a woolly jumper.
For heaven's sake this is just self-obsession. Who gives a toss what anyone wears or what the meaning is? Wear what you personally like and feel comfortable in -- wings, wellies, raybans, nomex, shorts, rubber, epaulettes, whatever -- and if the rest of the world doesn't like it, then it can go jump. There's no philosophical question whatsoever in all this -- it's utterly trivial.
QDM