Slick Southpaw
Who cares if you cannot see someone's equip list?
You can ask them or you can ask in Q/A or ask a good friend if they're super item savvy.
I have tried asking before...only to get the "This Person Only Accepts PMs from Friends Only." Oh yes, SO helpful! -_-'
On topic:
I don't have mine hidden. And, it's funny if people are like, "I must hide, so no one can steal it!!!!"
rofl We CAN 'steal' your avi just by LOOKING at the items you're wearing! Yes, the avi I have now was taken from someone else, but I changed the hair style and added the stuffed animal and the little pixie thing. So, I really think it's stupid to have it hidden, since we can SEE what you're wearing anyways.
The only way I can see it being hidden is if you don't want to get hacked, but that's still not going to stop people from sending you the messages because they can SEE all those awesome items you're wearing.