Let’s be clear about this: I only have a passing interest in fashion. In fact, very, very passing. My husband is different, he won’t go out to door when his clothing isn’t coordinated. Me, I try to look my best of course, but when I have to walk the dog I don’t much care how I look. The Covid-19 crisis hasn’t helped in that of course. I’ve been working from home since March 10, seeing the working world from behind my laptop. Sure, my top half looks presentable, but my jeans are my constant companion, and Adidas trainers that have definitely seen better days.
Although I do like colorful clothes, jackets and scarves, my clothes tend to be serviceable, and have to be comfortable. Which in the past years meant that jackets and scarves are out to the question. Due to my age I’m almost constantly way too hot for comfort. So you see, I dress for comfort most of the time.
I think we can agree that I’m no fashionista, dressing according to the latest fashion is something that I’ve let go many, many years ago. Why am I telling you all of this? Because I wanted to talk to you about fashion games.
Syn Sophia’s Style Boutique
Years ago I downloaded a demo of a new fashion game through our Wii for my daughter. Remember that feature, where you could use connectivity to download new demos from your Wii to your DS? Â We had seen an interview in the news on the Wii, with Syn Sophia, the developer of the game that was released by Nintendo. And as my daughter is very much into fashion, we decided to have a go with Style Boutique (or Style Savvy as it’s called in the US).
I had a go at it myself, and I was surprised at what I found. This was a game that even I could play, not being into fashion at all, because it’s a management style game that made excellent use of everything the DS and later the 3DS, Streetpass and online wifi had to offer. Later on, two more instalments were added to the series, each one even better then the one before. It had a good Streetpass function where you could exchange Stylist Cards, which contained personalized information about your character and offered a link to the player’s Web Shop.
The Web Shop was a very cool feature: You could create it in the Fashion Plaza, customizing a store front and create three outfits to sell to others. You could also access others’ Web Shops. And in true style, some well-known real life  clothing designers had some items which you could get through Spotpass.
I guess you could compare my love of a fashion game to loving the farming games without having an interest in wanting to be a farmer!
Fashion Game on Switch
Ever since we had the Switch, I’ve been craving for a new instalment in the series. There’s no news yet, but I did read that at the start of 2020 that Nintendo filed a trademark for Nintendo Presents Style Boutique which is hopeful. At least, this would mean they haven’t abandoned the game.Â
So I tried to quench my thirst for a good fashion management game with other options out there. Bought myself SELFY COLLECTION in hopes that it would be a good one too. It is, however, a very different game from Style Boutique even if the fashion element connects them both. In Style Boutique you have to manage the store, balancing what to buy for fear that you won’t be able to sell it and dabble in marketing using your window mannequin. You won’t really find this in SELFY COLLECTION. This game is much more about the fantastical creations and I do have to stress the fantastical part, going all out in cuteness and trying out all kinds of crazy combinations.
Currently, I’m giving My Universe Fashion Boutique a try. But though I have yet to make my review, I can already tell you this one isn’t doing it either. Yes, you are managing a store and fulfilling fashion requests from customers. But the game is much more rough around the edges, and feels empty in comparison. And what I don’t like at all: it includes mini-games to make each garment. It makes progress slow and cumbersome.
So, my fashion itch goes unscratched, for now….
