Padding was armor, and armor is what Mr. Saint Laurent gave legions of women, feminists and fashion plates alike, in the early 70's when he dressed them in his "smokings," those wide-shouldered pantsuits, typically in black or white, that were shown with high heels and sheer blouses that kept the look from being completely masculine.
He removed the shoulder pads and armor, including the accessories like the high-technology eyeglass monitor headset thing that was equipped on one of his eyes.
Pre-curved fingers and concealed seams aid comfort, retention straps keep them from blowing off when you wave to fellow motorcyclists, padding and armor protect your hands from injury.
By the late Middle Ages, men were clad in cloth suits--tights, close-fitting doublet, padded short coat, fitted and padded sleeves, and codpiece--that imitated armor "in flowing stiff abstract shapes around the body, finally culminating in the starched ruff at the neck, a kind of armor-like abstraction of the shirt-collar".
To protect the riders the armor had to be especially thick, heavy and rigid, Mr. Pyhrr explained, and the helmet well padded to guard against whiplash.
Examine Leon's cop outfit, and it's comprised of pads and body armor and fingerless gloves it's gone straight from the concept art desk into the game.
If you are planning on adding armor or padding (e.g. football pads) underneath your clothes to give you a muscular look, consider buying things in a size or two larger than you normally wear.
It was the dwarfs who did that -- poor things carrying the heavy weight of their armor and their padding and so on.
