We already know the magic skill set has no armor or unarrmored skill and thus pure mages dont need armor as they wont have any armor perks.

This also means magic has had to be balanced for a mage without extra health without a shield without a weapon to block with and without armor... gona be interesting.

Everyone being able to use magic makes sense and is one of the things I loved about TES. If magic existed IRL, who wouldn't use it? A pure mage in TES will have more powerful spells and be able to use multiple schools more effectively than warriors or thieves who of course put more focus into other skills.

They're working on the checks and balances a lot for Skyrim and what I've read so far sounds much more balanced than in previous games.

How capable with "warrior" or "thief" skills a mage is depends on the individual mage as it should IMO. Some mages are typical wizards purely focused on magic, others are battle mages or night blades or whatever. It's good to have this kind of variety.

There's no particularly compelling reason mages shouldn't be allowed to wear armor. We've all heard the "it restricts their movement and spellcasting motions" but really I can't see how anything other than gauntlets would be an issue, unless spellcasting starts becoming some sort of advanced fast paced yoga in which the mage uses their whole body.

With Oblivion's bathrobes that would make sense, they beat the thief guild in being the worst dressed guild in the game.
Fashion sense? me, no but I got this robe free then I joined.

I am wondering. With the removal of classes, do you folks think that condition also removes any armor restrictions that may have been based on class?

Lol, I had just done some research on Arena, and was in an "Arena" state of mind when I asked that question. Back then, in Arena, there were considerations about armor type when choosing a class. In that game, classes were limited to specific armor types.

For Skyrim, in order to deal with the OP's concern, perhaps we should ask, when not naked, what should a Nord mage wear?

The reality is that Nords and Norse can be similar, but, they are not to be considered as exactly the same.

However, in preparation for playing Skyrim, I find myself doing a lot of research on the Norse, to include customs, and everyday life, as there are some strong similarities.

Many facts about the Norse are revealed through, anthropology, archeology and their various sagas. Perhaps for mages, one can reference literature, and Norse Mythology, and use what has been learned to select from the best available resources provided in the game.

In order to expedite this matter, I will conclude that a robe should not be a requirement for a Nord mage, although not prohibited.

My Nordic shamaness will wear those cloths, furs, leathers, and so forth, that are available in the game. Hopefully, she will be be able to enchant them, for the purpose of role-play. Until we know more specifics about the game, my only answer for the OP is gameplay.

Why are you people wearing robes when you can wear shirt and pants? On the default difficulty my mage is level 15 and has 0 problem with taking damage even though he is in all unenchanted clothing and has no weapon. I am still using only apprentice level spells too... /cry