I'm 14 years into the job, all in patrol with no plainclothes time. My first agency wore Blauer street gear as a daily uniform- military creases, but newish fabrics and cargo pockets on the pants. The last 9 years have been traditional wool pants and polyester shirts year round with clarino duty gear- never worn external vests for regular patrol. During that time the belt has gotten heavier with more gear- Taser, TQ, extra cuffs, etc... and it's begun to take a toll, to a point that my monthly chiro bill is the nearly the same as my 457 account contributions.
I'm somewhat indifferent on polo/5.11 style pants vs. traditional appearing shirt/pants, but I am a big fan of modern fabrics and weight management for the duty gear. If chief for a day (and I've been on straight midnights for over half my career) I would likely go with traditional appearing uniforms using modern fabrics and some sort of load bearing external vest.
All of those CSPD guys are unmistakably cops, but some look more squared away than others- and it has nothing to do with the uniform. This is an agency my command staff has a relationship with, and I think they do a great job with uniforms, allowing officers to choose either external LBV or traditional vest/belt. Not a huge beard guy, but some battles....