Why does Vegeta wear armor?

[fadeddreams5]

I mean, aside from the fact that it's probably useless, given his durability. In concept art made for Broly, Toriyama wrote that battles suits were issued by Frieza's forces. This leads me to believe that this armor is given to anyone who serves Frieza. Why would Vegeta continue to wear something like this? I don't imagine he'd take pride over his actions or time under Frieza's leadership. I always thought it served to remind him of his saiyan heritage, but these didn't originate from the saiyans in the first place...

[rereboy]

Because there's literally no better clothes for fighting.

[Hitiro]

I wouldn't say it is useless. Sure any character can, in the later part of Z, tear through it easily. But it still offers some semblance of protection. That could make all the difference between a fatal and non-fatal blow.

[Angelus]

Seems to me like it became embedded in Saiyan culture. In Goku and Friends Return, Vegeta says that it's Saiyan formal wear.

[FoolsGil]

Vegeta's not a fan of earth clothing, and armor is all he knows.

[Hellspawn28]

Armor has good projection to it. He most likely didn't wear his Cell saga armor during the Buu saga most likely because the 25th Tenkachi Budokai didn't allow it.

[Marco Polo]

1. Just because it didn't originate from the Saiyans doesn't mean it can't be a Saiyan symbol. For example, the cross was a torture instrument invented by the Romans but it became the symbol of the Christians.

2. Even if it doesn't actually protect him, maybe he just wears them as normal clothes and not as "armor"? I mean it's lightweight and comfy, it's not like he's wearing medieval knight's armor.

3. Maybe he just doesn't want to end up naked in a battle? Goku has no problem prancing around shirtless (or totally naked), but maybe Vegeta doesn't like being shirtless in public?

[Rocketman]

3. Maybe he just doesn't want to end up naked in a battle? Goku has no problem prancing around shirtless (or totally naked), but maybe Vegeta doesn't like being shirtless in public?

Areolas the size of cookies.

[Diotor]

I thought it was reasonably useful at shrugging off weak blasts- it's most likely more useful for lower level warriors than someone like Vegeta.

He probably just wore it out of habit.

[RandomGuy96]

If nothing else, it's clear why Freeza's grunts wear it: it's indestructible! At least from the perspective of a civilization like ours. No, seriously. For a lower level Freeza mook, at least one in the 100-300 range (pretty sure guys like that exist, if Goku can be anything other than completely worthless and atypical with his 416 battle power), it'd make them invulnerable in whatever area the armor covers. Nappa and Vegeta stood right in the center of an explosion that wiped out a country-sized area, and their armor wasn't damaged in the slightest. You could argue that their ki 'shield' was 'protecting' their armor, like what happened later when they were blasted by Krillin (there's no way that shouldn't have destroyed their armor normally, as a hit from a much weaker Gohan cracked Raditz's armor). But it's a plot point that their pods weren't harmed in the slightest, either, and the ships didn't have a ki 'shield'. So, obviously, Freeza's pirates have plundered some extremely materials for their armor and vehicles.

Now that I think about it, their guns and bigger ships were also ridiculously strong. Those blasters had enough destructive power to affect people who could casually shatter MOONS (Freeza's grunts used them, even one of the ones who laughed at a battle power of 1,000). And the big ships, like Freeza's? Well, in addition to being able to travel between galaxies, one of them took zero damage from a blast that completely life-wiped planet Namek. Which was what, at least 100 teratons? This is, again, a major plot point, as Goku attempted to use that ship to escape Namek. He couldn't operate it, so he instead used one of the pods that the Ginyus came in on. Oh yeah, those things survived the life-wipe too.

How it works for people stronger than that is... unclear. It's possible that someone enhancing themselves with ki and wearing armor is more durable than someone enhancing themselves with the same amount of ki but wearing no armor. That's what Vegeta's comments on Namek seemed to imply. That, and Bulma even bothering to make them for the Cell Games. At the very least, though, it serves as a uniform and, in Vegeta's case, a memento of a time when there were more than two (three?) saiyans.

[Kakacarrottop]

Because he is stuck in the past and refuses to embrace Earth's culture and customs. By GT of coarse he finally gives in and starts wearing normal human clothes, although that could be chalked up to Toei wanting to reinvent the franchise by redesigning everything in GT.

[Lord Beerus]

Vegeta always wears armor because he's the MOTHERFUCKIN PRINCE OF ALL SAIYANS!!!

[flashback0180]

1.Because he's been dressing up like that since he was a kid.
2 . because it can fit comfortably for any size.
3.He is a warrior.
Or
it's because the only other clothes he has is a dumb pink shirt.

[Marco Polo]

Because he is stuck in the past and refuses to embrace Earth's culture and customs. By GT of coarse he finally gives in and starts wearing normal human clothes, although that could be chalked up to Toei wanting to reinvent the franchise by redesigning everything in GT.

Actually, it was Toriyama who designed Vegeta's appearance in GT, mustache included, as well as the rest of the main cast:

[ParkerAL]

Because if you wear something long enough, you get used to wearing it, much like how most of us are used to wearing shirts, shoes and pants (I hope).