I prefer style, as limited by game issues (like, I only had lv1 armorer for a long time, so I couldn't tweak armor bits for appearance. But I kept wearing the vault suit & didn't use certain layered bits because they're ugly.)
....reminds me of how disappointed I was in FO:NV, when I finally had to leave my Reinforced Leather behind, because it was just too weak. 
But now that I learned about/got ballistic weave, my character's running around in a Laundered Denim Dress & the Militia hat. With a hunting rifle or shotgun, she looks like she should be Rancher Woman, standing on a porch in the Old West, facing off against some bandits. 
edit: rank 3 weave, I think. So 65 armor.