Question about acquiring gear

[HomieGSB]

Hey everyone, newbie here. Well, relative newbie. I've got a 14 Druid and now a 10 Paladin, but there's something that's been bothering me: gear.

I've seen around here that gear maybe doesn't matter so much, but really, I can't be using cloth armor and a Tarnished Two Handed Sword forever now, can I?(And really, I'm a paladin, I'd at least like to look the part.) Merchants don't seem to be much help, selling breastplates for 766 plat, and blacksmithing is apparently a huge gold sink that I just can't afford as a newbie. I've read that selling my bone chips and picking up some banded armor might work, but even ignoring the logistics of getting to East Commonlands, (apparently a trading hub?) using all my money to just buy some gear doesn't seem like great fun, even though I'll do it if offered no other options. How are you supposed to gear yourself in this game‽

Ah well, this has turned out to be a huge rant, but I just wanted to go through my thought process. Any advice on how to gear up for a newbie paladin would be greatly appreciated, even if it's "go buy some armor." [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]