StyleSavvy was one of the first games I got for my ds lite back in idk 2009 (?) While most of the games I played at this time were shovelware that I got pre-owned from gamestop (this one might have been too... who knows), I immediately knew that this game was different. Not only did it appeal to my love for dress up games, that until this point had been satisfied by a multitude of flash games, but it also felt so polished and detail-oriented. I could change my hair and dye it multiple colors, I could control every aspect of my makeup look, and the clothes were not just the same 3 color-swapped models that I was used to. But in fact pieces that were deliberately and carefully made to appeal to certain senses of style and subcultures. While at this time I would still see groups of goth teenagers at the mall, I now had the ability to actually dress like them!

I find it lowkey bizarre that in the modern day we do not really have any equivalents to this franchise in terms of quality, diversity, and gameplay. Really nothing has come out within the last decade that in any way compares (besides of course the other games in the series). There is definitely a demand for it, I mean think of the current popularity of Dress to Impress on Roblox. Ultimately, I feel as though a lot of this circles back to the fact that girl gamers are rarely ever the ones that are catered to. Looking back, all the girly games I played as a kid were not in a technical aspect, objectively very good. They mainly were a way to appeal and cash in on the young female demographic, all the while putting as little effort and money as possible into the project.

Overall, these games shaped my view of what adulthood would be like, and fostered my self expression in a way that few other games did. Of course, now that I am an adult and it is no longer the late 2000s, I can say that contemporary adulthood is significantly less fun than I had previously envisioned. But that doesn't prevent me from occassionally booting up my ds lite and finding a bit of solace in this game.