Real men fight (semi-)naked - with optional wolf or bear cloak.
Real scale armour (loads of small plates stitched together) is probably about as easy to make as chainmail: quite simple, but very time consuming. Bigger plates significantly reduce the required time, e.g. Imperial Roman 'lorica segmentata'.
A full suit of plate is much more expensive than any other type of armour, simply because it will have to be specificially tailored to the wearer - chainmail is extremely flexible, but a 15th century suit of armour has to to be exactly right.
In terms of quality, the overall level of protection mostly increases with the evolution of the armour, although it depends on practicality (i.e. some armour could be more popular as it was relatively cheap) and the weapons considered. Weak piercing weapons can open up rings of chainmail while gliding of plate, while blunt weapons can literally put a dent in plate while chainmail may be able to absorb the blow.
If in doubt, go for chain. In use for 2500 years and counting (still used against knife attacks in some bulletproof vests, as kevlar only stops high-velocity missiles), and looks smashing too.
