Dress to Impress takes us back to our childhood as digital girls

When my parents bought a desktop computer and had it set up in our living room, I was about 12 years old. The first thing I did? Set up an MSN account to chat with my friends and abuse the nudge feature. The second thing I did? Look for online games where I could dress up avatars, choosing from a potentially endless variety of small, colorful outfits inspired by the latest trends. So, when I started seeing screenshots on TikTok and Twitter from an online game called Dress to Impress, a siren went off in my head, and I just had to try it, remembering those afternoons after school spent selecting tiny cardigans, heeled boots, absurd hair colors, and extravagant makeup. This is my version of gaming.

Dress to Impress: How to Play and How It Works

To play Dress to Impress, you first need to download Roblox and then search for the game on the platform. Once you’ve created an account, chosen a nickname, and selected your mannequin's gender, you can dive right into the themed challenges. I skipped all the tutorials and jumped right in. Here's how it works: the avatars wait in a sort of lobby until the theme is announced. Themes range from things like "amusement park" to "pop singer," to "famous villains," "2014 fashion," and "aliens." You play with people from all over the world who are online at the same time. In the corner is a podium showing the results of the previous challenge, and in the top left corner, there’s a small chat for communicating with other players. When the waiting period ends, you’re transported to a huge walk-in closet where you can select your look. There’s also a makeup station, a nail station, and one for hairstyles. You can even change your skin tone. Time ticks away, and once finished, the final outfits walk the runway and pose, and the other players vote using a star rating system. The player with the most stars wins, and those who make it onto the podium earn points and in-game currency to purchase special clothing items.

A Space for Girls (and Where We Can Feel Like Kids Again)

The universe of Dress to Impress is a rarefied, slow, and repetitive one (to walk faster, access the most exclusive wardrobes, and get a variety of perks, you need to pay in real money), sometimes frustrating, but addictive. It’s not hard to see why: it's a game where the average player is young and predominantly female, which doesn’t surprise us, given our past and present experiences. It’s surprisingly easy to get frustrated (the less on-theme but more fashionable outfits always seem to win), making the game even more addictive, because it fuels a sense of rivalry.

Why Is It So Popular? The Answer's in the Question (Almost)

Maybe it’s because it brings us back to our childhood, maybe it’s because there’s a twisted satisfaction in getting annoyed at players who are probably younger than us and are paying for a premium account with their parents' credit card, or maybe we just need a break. What’s certain is that Dress to Impress was the pastime of the summer and shows no signs of stopping even now that we’re a little busier. The whole game lends itself to this. There are codes (that you can search for online or share in chat) to unlock exclusive clothes and costumes secret rooms, and (maybe?) even caged and swapped-out beauticians that spark memes and funny posts. It's a universe to explore, ever-expanding, and the ability to recreate iconic looks and let your imagination run wild is just the icing on the cake. So, let's go back to being kids, even after work.