Just as with Skyrim before, I have to admit I never played Star Wars: The Old Republic, so I’m not the best person to validate whether or not the game does a good job at keeping costume designs equal. Anyone with specific examples at hand, feel free to submit with your own comments!
And yeah, I will always agree that it should be totally up to the player to decide how their character is dressed (so of course the game should provide as many options as possible).