I've been self training for nearly four years now and the vast majority of it has been done in comfortable street clothes - foot apparel of all types included.
I train on numerous surfaces: tennis courts, asphalt parking lots, grass, gravel trails and thin carpet in my garage. Typically I wear either track pants or jeans with light minimalist sneakers, but I also wear other foot gear I own such as boots, loafers, sandals and other types of sneakers. I may be wearing a tee shirt, under armor, or a button down shirt. In the cold weather I'm using a fleece pull over, or light and loose jacket.
Footwear, especially, has an impact on training. Footwear for hiking, for example, has a stronger grip, so caution must be taken when pivoting until using them in a karate framework becomes second nature. I have three pair of minimalist sneakers I cycle through. Two of the pair are so worn down they have no tread left. They're great since the smooth surface enhances pivoting, but they are slippery too under some circumstances - great for balance practice while kicking though.
Pants also have an impact on technique. I have two types of denim jeans I wear: loose fit all around and a tighter fit around the hips and thighs. Stating the obvious, the tighter jeans do slightly restrict my kicking and deeper stance techniques, not enough to be an issue though for self defense purposes. The loose jeans are as comfortable as my track pants and wearing a thick belt with a larger buckle offers a minimal amount of protection.
Wearing light pull-overs or jackets also has a slight impact on technique, particularly around the shoulders. Another aspect to consider with any long sleeve apparel is the sleeves offer a target to be grabbed in a self defense situation. Good if you are doing the grabbing to control while attacking, but bad if the reverse is true. Keeping this in mind, it is even more vital to keep the returning arm powerful in its draw back so protect against control attempts by your opponent.
Well, that's all for now...
