I am not too fussed either way this suggestion goes but I wanted to add my thoughts on having the old clothing back.
In RP a lot of the time it felt like a privilege to wear something that stands out and identifies you as a member of a specific gang with your groups logo on or when there was less clothing options something that stood out and was not accessible to other players. It shows others who you are and, for me at least, it made me think about my actions as I was representing my group whenever I was in those clothes during RP.
One of the most amazing RP experience I have ever had was putting my groups clothing on for the first time after a meeting where I was called out from the group and commended for my efforts during a war for saving another members life in the face of danger and against the clock, saving his life just as it looked like it was too late and being sworn in through an oath. It is a story I tell people in and out of RP about "Earning my colours," and it was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in RP.
This type of RP can definitely still happen but for some reason it feels less special when you see others running around in something you earned but on the other hand you would feel like you would be acting as a bit of a douche telling people in RP "You cant wear that, take it off." It leads to more RP for sure but then you get OOC complaints about being told what you can and cant wear. The idea of the new clothing was to provide players with more choice and at the end of the day if someone likes wearing something and you make them take it off you are hurting that choice and possibly their experience as a whole when you make them wear something else.
I feel like the old group clothing along with the new clothing options would retain the RP of being "Patched in." or "Earning your colours." As I feel that is important and feels rewarding to be given your groups official patched/whitelisted clothing for actions and loyalty within RP to one group. It would also mean that when other clothing that your gang uses is worn by other players in the server it does not tarnish or belittle the feeling and RP of being patched in, as you still hold those clothes in your wardrobe, if only as a reminder or trophy that you wear for special occasions or even if you wear it all the time. Player choice is a key factor in RP and you are only limiting that choice be removing them completely.
If groups would like to RP in a new way without the old clothing they still can even if the old clothing is in their wardrobe, having the old clothing added with the new clothing options would surly only be giving those groups more avenues of RP, not less. If a group wants to RP with the old clothing they should be able to do that, if the groups RP standards are lowered because of the clothing being added back as an option then in my opinion the problem is not with the clothing but the group itself and their attitude towards RP in general needs to be discussed with them. If the only option is to remove the old clothing to improve RP of certain gangs then why not remove it just for that gang even if only as a temporary removal until RP standards improve.
These are just my thoughts and I am interested in knowing if others feel the same way about it. I am mainly taking an educated guess as to why the old group clothing was thought to cause issues within RP but I am still a little unsure on the decision making behind it however, I am sure whatever the reason, there was good justification for it.
Thank you for listening to my TED talk.
TL;DR
Player choice is important and the old group clothing has meaning to people within RP. If groups standards of RP drop because of the old clothing being added back, there is a bigger issue that needs to be sorted with that group. Having the old group clothing as well as the new clothing options would increase avenues of RP for groups and having it as an option does not mean it is the only option available for the RP of the group, its just an extra option. The clothing options can just as easily be taken away after they are added and if its the only option that staff and devs see as a way to improve a groups RP it should be done, even as only a temporary measure, this should not be a punishment for the groups whos RP standards are at a high enough quality.
If the "TL;DR" was TL;DR
+1 add old group clothing back as an option alongside the new group clothing outfits ooga booga.