If you’ve ever been on the internet as a young girl, I bet you remember playing at least one of the many oh-so fashionable, virtual doll dress up or makeover games. They were the type of games that you would play after school, on a rainy day bored on the computer, or even whenever your mom would let you finally have your turn on the family computer. I wanted to visit that nostalgia and talk about how underappreciated we may regard them now as young women.
So many website options
I would be lying if I told you that there was only one website I’d visit for my dress-up games. My options included (but definitely weren’t limited to) Barbie, Polly Pocket, Diva Starz, My Scene, and many other random games on the web that one could stumble across. I think the website I remember having the most abundant array of games to pick from was Doll Divine. The website still offers dress-up activities designed around animals, fantasy, fashion, folk, and even history!
Room for creativity
The activities on the Barbie website always included a various range of customizable opportunities. This game was one of my favorites.
Where else could you pretend to be a fully customizable princess, fairy, hero, pirate, and sailor scout but in the realm of these online dress-up games? These dress-up games weren’t limited to only designing outfits; you could create your own hairstyles and even pick out whatever outrageous color you wanted your hair to be (remember back when having any unnaturally colored hair was considered to be highly rebellious?). One could also create a makeup look that your parents would never let you wear except for maybe a dance recital. I like to think my younger sister got her fabulous start in the makeup game from us playing these dress-up games and comparing what we created.
In addition, I like to think that these dress-up games can still be used today as a quick reference guide to making characters for a story. If you’re short on time and need a place to start, there’s always the “randomize” button to help you think of cool combinations.
The more the merrier
I remembered how great these websites are in general and I decided to make myself a sailor scout, as a tribute to one of my favorite shows growing up (Sailor Moon).
One of the great aspects about these games involved being able to not only create stylized versions of yourself, but of your friends and family as well. I still have fond memories of my friends coming over and crowding around the family computer while we would pick and choose which to play and make of ourselves. Not only that, but sometimes we would create outrageous and totally out there doll outfits just because we could.
Overall, I would be lying if I said I didn’t do any of these dress-up games now as a third year college student. Not only do I find it to be a great way to pass the time (especially during finals work when my brain ceases to function), but I also think that it’s very relaxing. Additionally, they are still a fabulous place to experiment and get inspiration for different outfit combinations. If you want to load some stress off during exam season, I would highly consider taking a trip down memory lane and making your own fashionable outfits from these nostalgic dress-up doll websites.
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