I wear this stuff because it’s comfortable. In fact, it’s comfortable enough to wear while sweating yourself silly while hauling a 70lbs pack uphill while mountaineering (which I do) so you can understand that it’s also preferable in more comfortable environments.

It’s not that a person wants to be prepared for outdoor activities 24/7, it’s that the quality and functionality beats normal clothes and you might as well make an investment. For me, I wear some combination of the aforementioned outdoor gear to work almost every day so it’s not so much signifying that I’m not at work as much as mere common sense to wear the same clothes on weekdays as I wear on weekends.

And no, you’re right. I don’t climb a mountain every weekend. But is it really so illogical to wear the same clothes anyways, or as you say, to buy something different (and less comfortable, and less functional) just because I don’t?