I think that's referring to the fact that dwarves are small, and thus can't wear medium/large armor. But it also sounds out-dated/misleading and in need of correction.

I don't know about specific lower level restrictions, but Dwarves (and Halflings) cannot wear robes at any level.

That's not true at all. First example that comes to mind, Robe of the Spring


Depends on the item.

Huh, TiL.

However, in the case of Clerics, Robe of the Azure Sky and Sal'Varae's Robe of Darknesss remain off limits to Dorfs and Asslings.

So what you meant was, they can't wear the specific BiS (per era) robes.

Here's another robe anyone can wear, Guardian Robe. (not saying this is any good on a cleric)

At any rate, Dwarves and Halflings don't have robe models, so they will all just look like tunics of the corresponding color and don't fit his request for cool pieces. (visually, I assume, based on his mention of scarab)

Consider halfling, only race to get hide *and* sneak, can be pretty usefull for a cleric.