What is Dress to Impress, and why is everyone so obsessed?

The theme is ‘Fashion Icon’. The timer is ticking. In the dressing room, there’s a mad scramble to pull garments off the shelves and combine them into a runway-ready look. I throw on a pair of oversized sunglasses, heavy biker boots, and a t-shirt recoloured in Brat-green. There’s just enough time for a visit to the salon to change my character’s hair and make-up before the show (my first attempt went out with blue skin and a blank cube for a head, so things can only get better). On the catwalk, I forget to strike a pose. My homage to Charli xcx doesn’t even make it on the podium. 

This might sound like a pre-Fashion Week – or post-Brat summer – fever dream, but a growing population of style-minded gamers will see it for what it really is: a round of the ruthless fashion game Dress to Impress. 

In case you’re unfamiliar, Dress to Impress (or DTI) is a game, developed by teenaged Roblox users, with a pretty simple concept: players are given a theme, and have a limited amount of time to dress their Bratz-style avatar appropriately. Or destabilise the ‘Hot Mess’ category as a goblin in rags – the choice is theirs. “It’s just fun,” Bella*, 20, tells Dazed. She first played the game late last year, and has played it on and off over the last few weeks. But she says that her friend, who is also 20, “must spend three plus hours a day on it… she loves the game”.

Style games have existed forever, of course, from Y2K browser classics like Stardoll, to the paper dolls your grandma used to cut out of magazines. So why are we talking about DTI now? An even better question: why is the internet so obsessed with what is ostensibly a game for kids, with streamers, Instagram influencers, and literal celebs logging in to strut their stuff on the digital runway?

Below, we’ve gathered everything you need to know about this vital new art form.

Put simply, Dress to Impress is a game hosted on the online gaming platform Roblox. You might associate this name with screaming iPad babies and 13-year-olds maxing out their mum’s credit card, but increasingly Roblox is frequented by older users as well. This has picked up over the last few years, with the platform hosting concerts by the likes of Charli xcx, fashion experiences by Paolina Russo and Gucci, and widely attended political protests.

Intentionally or otherwise, DTI taps into this unlikely fashion crowd with its styling-based gameplay, which allows players to combine and modify a bunch of pre-set clothes and accessories, plus hair and make-up looks. Other players then vote on each outfit in turn, and the winning three are assigned bronze, silver, and gold. This is my Olympics.

“Express your style, meet new friends, and embark on a stylish journey,” reads the game’s homepage. Just don’t hold your breath for any plus-sized avatars, or try to dress your male character in women’s clothes.

“For girls and boys, when has dressing up ever not been fun?” says Bella. “We’ve done it from such a young age, with dolls, pets, family and friends, and ourselves.” She emphasises the creative aspect of the game and the flexibility, which enables users to push the generic dress-up categories beyond their limits.

The main thing, she adds, “is the fact that [DTI] doesn’t feel like a game made for children”. This is a recurring theme. Despite the plasticky graphics and proximity to games for literal babies, adults have gone all-in on the backstage-styling-meltdown simulator. Streamers with followers in the multi-millions, like Madison Beer and Kai Cenat, have shared footage of their best efforts, while other influencers have taken the game IRL with their own wardrobes.

“I believe I’m on the older side,” says Bella, on the topic of the game’s playerbase. “But I meet people the same age as me more often than not.” There are also exclusive servers for players of a higher rank, she adds, and these seem to skew slightly older.

Is it all a bit tongue-in-cheek, ironic, or driven by nostalgia? Probably, yes. Is it also very addictive once you get started? I confess, I did not want to log off. A podium finish? What a rush.

Charli xcx’s Brat rollout has been long and all-encompassing, and it seems that Roblox won’t be missing out. According to a video posted by the official DTI X account – soundtracked by “360” – a Brat tie-in is incoming, complete with new clothing, a new set, and a new pose. 

Despite the game owners’s claims that they’ve partnered with Charli herself, the singer is yet to confirm the surprise crossover. If it is real, it’s scheduled to arrive on August 17.

Roblox has been controversial for a long time, not least because much of the platform is built on the underpaid (or unpaid) labour of fans and enthusiasts. For example, the creator of DTI, known only as Gigi, is said to be 17 years old, while one 3D modeller is reported to be as young as 14. Like many players, Bella doesn’t have any problem with this dynamic, since developer positions are largely voluntary. “They learn the hard skills of developing a game,” she says. “It’s dedication, and it’s impressive.”

“[DTI’s creators] have made a game that will be talked about for a long time,” she adds. “I think when children who play it today grow up, they will reminisce on it with their friends.” 

Judging by the dress-up games of times gone by, this is true. But what will linger in their memories? Will it be that first place prize they earned for their Harajuku Girls cosplay, or the friends they made along the way? Or will it be the weird sense that Dress to Impress reinforced outdated ideas about who gets to wear what, and what bodies should be seen on the runway? With many premium items on sale, the prevailing memory might just be the look on their mum’s face when she realises her bank account has been drained to pay for virtual Charli xcx merch. Fingers crossed it’s the former.