Gear in Forsaken World can be acquired in a multitude of different ways. Gear is gained by killing monsters, completing quests, trading with players, finishing events, dungeons, or instances, and so on.
Equipping gear is as easy as right clicking it in your inventory. You will of course need to meet the requirements for the item first, though. Pay attention also to whether the item you're equipping is bind on equip or not. If an item binds when you equip it, only you may use that item for the rest of that items lifespan.
You can also sell gear to vendors for some soul currency, so keep all of the equipment you don't plan on using or selling to other players and merchant it all off for some quick cash. Many items can also be salvaged with the Scavenger job at level 40.