Personally I think the pants work a lot better these days than the 70's padded-looking panties. I agree that a darker red, leather top would be nice. Less chance of wardrobe malfunction, plus some level of actual protection.
As for the Amazon Warrior skirt idea? Nice in theory, but folks would probably call it a Xena rip-off, (or accuse the creators of pandering to fanboys with panty shots, etc) - Although it did allow us to see Lucy Lawless crushing bad guys between her thighs...