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Your typical Frank Franzetta or Boris Vallejo book cover or magazine cover featured a scantily clad damsel fighting off an evil orc or BEM (Bug Eyed Monster) or heavily armored galactic overlord. The damsel might have a sword and a shield, but body armor was mostly limited to a metal brassiere, which in some cases may have been all the clothing beyond an equally scanty pair of metal mesh panties.
Some of these works put the damsel in a snowfield, which even compounds the problem: would a guy wear such skimpy clothing in such cold weather? And would a guy wear such useless armor when confronted by a brute armed with a giant battle ax?
Apparently someone else has seen the folly of such attire, and created a visual listing of more useful and appropriate armor for the female form:
http://womenfighters.tumblr.com/
Though a nice armored and air-conditioned space suit might still serve best.
