In various reviews, etc., the authors will state that a light "looks good". I have a different outlook. My interest is only the efficiency & capability of the light that i purchase. The fact that the appearance is ugly would not alter my purchase. A light to me is a tool & sometimes a toy. Good engineering, reliability & cost to me far exceeds the "looks" of the light. From a sales point of view appearances are important. In my practical point of view appearances are meaningless.
Why does a woman have to be attractive? I have a different outlook. My only interest is having someone to keep me company, say interesting things, pay half the bills, and bear my children. Etc etc etc...
...except that things which make a woman (or a man) attractive usually
are functional, with a few notable and often-made-fun-of exceptions. It's the same with anything, whether a flashlight or a car or a person or a poisonous mushroom: that which is important to its functional effectiveness is the most refined, and after you learn about what makes something functional, you learn to appreciate the refined apperance of those features which make exceptional things more effective than the rest. In the case of a flashlight, it's usually crisp knurling or grip-rings on the body, a well-sculpted tailcap that allows for tailstanding while keeping the switch easily-accessible, a lense with a premium-grade anti-reflective coating, a head that can effectively dissipate heat, etc etc etc.
For the most part, people learn what makes a flashlight work well and outstanding examples of those features become their understanding of what the ideal flashlight should look like. And just as with selecting a mate, everyone's preference is a little different as per their own needs. For various and probably not entirely logical reasons, some people like to see certain features exaggerated beyond the minimum necessary for proper functioning, perhaps because it reflects a strength to match a weakness they sense in themselves. (in my case, I really like titanium lights, because I know I drop things on concrete and I always feel like an idiot for it, but titanium barely shows even the worst carelessness.) Good-looking flashlights aren't all tritium vials and nickel-plating; that's just the icing on the cake.