Ehem they look fantasy-esque because its a fantasy game...
When the devs remove all fantasy Armors, than they wouldnt be much left to choose from.
the armors are still fine...at least they aren`t so much unrealistic like in other fantasy games.
though, my list of unhistorical crpg items is a bit(a big bit^^) longer than yours, but its a fantasy game so you shouldnt be bothered by all the things...
though i dont have problems with more historical armors but why should the other armors removed for that?