Electric Bone Flute
Troubadour
I'm not thinking about urban fantasy with a masquerade, as such would be plainclothesed, and I'm not thinking of an author-specific rule where they must have such and such component of their abilities in the clothes (although I once conceived of South African color mages who needed a specific color of the color wheel to cast by draining it from something in line of sight, so they would garishly wear the color of their specialty to ensure they'd have something). Mages are less often portrayed as independent agents and more as part of a larger body (hence the frequency of magic colleges in fiction), which would probably include its own peculiarities, perhaps including to clothing.
If it's an ancient institution, then maybe a uniform is involved, and depending on the level of connection one has to the institution after finishing training, then maybe they will continue to wear a uniform. Catholic religious orders still dress as if robes are the clothes of the working class, even if the O.F.M. priest I confessed to last Saturday wore a mask in addition, just from the inertia of the wardrobe and the porters' needs. Maybe materials update; yes, some nuns have velcro in those square hat-hoods. The design, however, remains.
If it's a newer institution, maybe the only thing mages is associated with is whatever safety gear the role may have. Even if it's not connected to an institution, it may have something associated with the subculture. The look won't be right if a a thick and gnarled walking stick comes with the territory but no sanction against t-shirts and ripped jeans.
If it's an ancient institution, then maybe a uniform is involved, and depending on the level of connection one has to the institution after finishing training, then maybe they will continue to wear a uniform. Catholic religious orders still dress as if robes are the clothes of the working class, even if the O.F.M. priest I confessed to last Saturday wore a mask in addition, just from the inertia of the wardrobe and the porters' needs. Maybe materials update; yes, some nuns have velcro in those square hat-hoods. The design, however, remains.
If it's a newer institution, maybe the only thing mages is associated with is whatever safety gear the role may have. Even if it's not connected to an institution, it may have something associated with the subculture. The look won't be right if a a thick and gnarled walking stick comes with the territory but no sanction against t-shirts and ripped jeans.