Elorin looks like an ordinary person.  He wears ordinary clothes and could easily pass for a thief.  Indeed, he once appeared headed to a life of thievery when he had the fortune to successfully pick the pocket of a wizard by the name of Rikanon Alidrel.  Rikanon was, to varying degrees, enraged and curious by the young thief's gall -- when in truth, Elorin had no idea who his mark really was.

Regardless, Rikanon tracked down the thief, determined the truth of the matter, and found -- to both his and Elorin's surprise -- that Elorin demonstrated a certain aptitude toward the magical arts.  Rikanon persuaded Elorin that magic held a more interesting and potentially lucrative future.

Thus it is that Elorin looks and dresses in a manner not normally associated with the typical mage.  This also explains Elorin's fascination for daggers.  And, of course, it also explains his not-quite-worldly view of matters -- although, his lessons from Rikanon regarding responsibility to the less fortunate, the weak, and blah blah blah will occasionally come to the fore.