Dress to Impress is a multiplayer dress-up video game developed for the game platform Roblox. It was released on November 11, 2023. In it, players are given five minutes to put together outfits for their avatar based on a theme, which are then ranked by other players before the three with the most votes are revealed. By mid-2024, the game had become a viral phenomenon online and Roblox's most popular experience, with popular video game livestreamers and a collaboration with Charli XCX's 2024 album Brat bringing it further attention. Dress to Impress also received praise from critics, who credited it with bringing older users to Roblox.
| Dress to Impress | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Gigi |
| Engine | Roblox |
| Platform(s) | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Xbox One, Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro, PlayStation 4 |
| Release | November 11, 2023 |
| Genre(s) | Dress-up |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
Gameplay
editDress to Impress players compete against one another in an online lobby, wherein they are given a theme and five minutes to style an outfit around it, picking out up to 18 articles of clothing from around a large room, as well as design their model, including choosing their makeup, skin tone, and nail color.[1][2] When the time is up, players walk down a catwalk to display their outfit to other players, who give each look a rating from one to five stars. Players are then ranked in order from most to least stars, with the top three players appearing on a podium at the end of the round.[3] Players also have personal ranks that go up to "Top Model" based on their rankings in rounds. A free play mode in which players can style outfits without a time limit or other competitors is also available.[4] As of 2024[update], clothing from the game takes inspiration from real-life fashion styles such as boho-chic, preppy, Lolita, Harajuku, and streetwear.[5] Users can also unlock items in the game by buying them with Robux, Roblox's virtual currency.[2]
Development and release
editDress to Impress was developed by a Roblox user known mononymously as Gigi, who was 17 years old in 2024.[2] The game's story, including a backstory for the game's nail technician, Lana, is largely written by a user named M0t0Princess.[6] It was officially released on Roblox on November 11, 2023. It soon became one of the fastest games, or "experiences", to reach one billion visits on the platform.[7]
By spring of 2024, Dress to Impress became a meme on TikTok, where users posted comical outfits and about the game's "pose 28" emote, which causes avatars to push their pelvis forward with their arms behind them and which American high school students mimicked in videos.[8][9] Pose 28 also became part of another TikTok trend in September 2024 in which users hit the pose while showing off their real-life outfits.[10] In early August 2024, users could collect "Shines", collectible items that were part of Roblox's "The Games" event, within Dress to Impress.[11] Later that month, it was announced on the Dress to Impress Twitter account that a collaboration with Charli XCX, which would add in-game items, emotes, and patterns based on her 2024 album Brat, would begin that month.[7] The update also added eight new themes, such as "Club Classics", "Mean Girls", "Y2K", "Brat", "Rotten to the Core", and "Partygirl".[12][13] The collaboration led to the game having over 651 thousand concurrent players soon after its release, its highest amount as of 2024[update].[4] The game also became a popular choice among video game livestreamers, including singer Madison Beer,[14] Pokimane, Kai Cenat, and CaseOh, by August, with The Mary Sue's Alexandria Lopez calling it "one of the hottest games on Roblox". YouTuber James Charles also played the game in several videos of his.[4] Various Roblox games with similar concepts to Dress to Impress, including It Girl and Slay the Runway, were also released after Dress to Impress.[3] By September 2024, Dress to Impress typically had the most concurrent players of any game on Roblox, usually averaging over 250 thousand, and, according to a Roblox spokesperson, had been played over 2.7 billion times.[1][4]
Critical reception
editKelsey Raynor of VG247 wrote that Dress to Impress was "pretty damned good" and "surprisingly competitive".[15] Ana Diaz, for Polygon, wrote that the "the coolest part" of Dress to Impress was that it "gives young people a place to play with new kinds of looks", calling it "a wild place where a diversity of tastes play out in real time every single day with thousands of players".[5] For Eurogamer, Emma Kent praised Dress to Impress as having a "simple yet brilliant idea" whose "secret ingredient" was its "jankiness"—its allowance of players to equip more than 18 elements at once despite potential clipping, its "tricky" user interface, and its "absurd" posing animations—which, she argued, gave players "enormous flexibility" when creating looks.[1] Madison Beer stated in August 2024 that playing the game was "healing" for her.[14]
Alexandria Lopez of The Mary Sue attributed the game's popularity among livestreamers to its "model-like men and women avatars", its "competitive aspect" and the sense of accomplishment from winning, and its "tap[ping] into the same satisfaction as fast fashion".[16] For The New York Times, Jessica Roy wrote that it was so successful due to its ability to be played on any computer or phone and its "highly customizable model" differentiating it from other Roblox games and "appeal[ing] to the fashion-obsessed". She also credited it with diversifying the age range of players on Roblox.[4] Kotaku Australia's Alyssa Mercante wrote that the game "[broke] out of Roblox containment in a manner heretofore unseen" by "ushering in new, older players to join [Roblox's] relatively young player base", comparing it to "an '00s-era Bratz game".[2]
At the 2024 Roblox Innovation Awards, Dress to Impress won the awards for Builderman Choice of Excellence, Best Creative Direction, and Best New Experience.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c Kent, Emma (September 1, 2024). "Viral sensation Dress to Impress has a secret ingredient: fabulous video game jank". Eurogamer. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Mercante, Alyssa (August 14, 2024). "Everyone Is Playing This Girly Dress-Up Game For Kids". Kotaku Australia. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ a b Lopez, Alexandria (August 12, 2024). "10 best games like 'Dress To Impress,' ranked". The Mary Sue. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Roy, Jessica (September 15, 2024). "Roblox for Adults? Dress to Impress Draws a Crowd". The New York Times. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ a b Diaz, Ana (July 25, 2024). "I'm heartbroken no one likes my outfits in Dress to Impress". Polygon. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ Thelen, Annie (September 7, 2024). "The Dress to Impress lore is actually terrifying". Destructoid. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ a b Saulog, Gabriel (August 14, 2024). "Here's What We Know About The Brat & Dress To Impress Tie-In". Billboard Philippines. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ Weedston, Lindsey (August 5, 2024). "Why Your Kids Are Talking About The DTI Meme". The Daily Dot. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ Cadorniga, Callie (May 17, 2024). "High School Kids Are Using Pose 28 to Celebrate the End of the School Year". Distractify. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ Diaz, Ana (September 14, 2024). "Dress to Impress is invading IRL fashion looks". Polygon. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ Benson, Madison (August 6, 2024). "Roblox The Games: Where to find all 5 shines in Dress to Impress". Destructoid. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ Shutler, Ali (August 22, 2024). "How to get the Charli XCX 'Brat' collection in 'Roblox'". NME. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ Carpenter, Nicole (August 19, 2024). "It's officially Brat Summer in Roblox's Dress to Impress". Polygon. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ a b Diaz, Ana (August 16, 2024). "Madison Beer says Roblox game Dress to Impress healed her — she has a point". Polygon. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ Raynor, Kelsey (August 16, 2024). "It's a Roblox brat summer: Charli XCX is coming to one of Roblox's biggest games, Dress to Impress - here's what you need to know". VG247. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ Lopez, Alexandria (August 6, 2024). "What Is 'Dress To Impress' and Why Is Every Streamer Playing It?". The Mary Sue. Retrieved October 1, 2024.