It was at its worst when more than one tiefling made the point that "we are no fighters, goblins would kill us", wearing elaborate high quality scale mail and armed with swords. It's not believable at all with everyone looking like elite warriors. The narrative should evoke sympathy for an oppressed group in distress but it just fails because of the visual disconnect.
I understand that from our distant relationship with war (in "classical" amour) this might seem to make so sense. You may think a good fighter does not get hit and therefore has new looking amour, while someone unexperienced would get hit and therefore wear worn down armour. Actually, it's pretty much the other way around. If you avoid battle (e.g. only run away), you will likely get hit less (or if you're lucky: not at all), so your armour stays in a good shape. Someone actively engaged in battle cannot evade getting hit sooner or later, though, no matter how good their fighting skills. So the armour of a (experienced) warrior is the one that needs mending.
So, in my opinion, Larian actually DID they research right on this.
Am I saying everyone should wear tidy, clean clothes? No, I think OP has a very fair point with that. But armour looking shiny on people who say they are no fighters is not a logical inconsistency.
