There are many reasons why he could be wearing padded leather. I get the potential RP aspects...and this is an RPG, so I concede those.
From a practical point of view, to put artwork into something that a reasonable player is going to dump/sell immediately seems a waste.
Also seems like a self-inflicted wound when trying to woo new players who expect to stealth with their new cool rogue only to find him failing a lot because they don't notice the penalty on his armor.
