Style Boutique (Nintendo DS) Review

The game starts off with you as the new sales assistant in the super-trendy boutique Primavera. The store manager, Grace, insists that you put your fashion skills to the test by helping out some customers. Naturally, the customers are ecstatic with your choices and leave with full bags of clothes. After only one day of working there you are offered the position of manager to a brand new boutique that the owner of Primavera is opening. If only it were that easy!

Before I go any further, I just want to point out one aspect of the game I was very disappointed with: there is no left-handed option. Being a lefty, awkward hand positioning and smudging ink while writing by hand is a problem I have overcome with the use of computers. However, Style Boutique is played as though you are holding a book and the text cannot be skipped by pressing a button - you have to tap the screen to go onto the next sentence. This is awkward when you are left-handed as you don't want to block the screen to the left but at the same time don't want to get hand cramp. I eventually got around this, but it's extremely disappointing that the option to change hands is not present given Nintendo's past stance with handedness and DS games.

Rant over. I was given the keys to my new shop and many coins to spend on new stock. The first thing I did was make my way down to the Exhibition Hall to buy some clothes. You're given some lines to start off with, but there's nothing wrong with a bit of variety! Anything you buy in the Exhibition Hall will be sent straight to your shop inventory, apart from on a Sunday when the previews of fashions for the next season are exhibited. These are sent to your shop the next day (each in-game day is one actual day and the calendar is set according to your DS).

It isn't too difficult to please the customers in terms of finding what they want - just take a look at the style they are wearing and choose a brand that suits that style. For example if a girl is dressed head-to-toe in punk type clothes with rips and studs everywhere, she's not going to appreciate you choosing a pink frilly skirt for her. Other clues about what the girl is looking for can also be found in what she chats to you about beforehand. You get more than one chance to show her your choices - three chances to offer different types of wares and then on the fourth chance she will try it on regardless of whether she likes it or not. Although, if a customer is unsure about your choice, you always have the option of trying to convince them that they look amazing (even if when they don't) so there is still possibility of making a sale. Each time you help a customer to find what they want, they will get a stamp on their profile showing you how many times they have visited your shop. If your fashion advice happens to fall flat with a particular customer, she will more than likely visit another day in the hope you will have some different stock.

To make your shop even more famous, you can enter fashion contests ran by Rococo, who looks like a more colourful version of costume designer Edna 'E' Mode from The Incredibles. The fashion contests are based around a theme and you are given a selection of clothes to create your look to tie in with the theme. Content only available via download can be obtained using the Wi Fi option. These are styles inspired by real designers, such as Charlotte Ronson. According to the website, downloadable content will be updated regularly, so keep an eye out for new fashions as the seasons change.

Another online aspect is the Community Emporium where you can shop in user-created boutiques and buy full outfits that users are displaying in their stores at 50% of the price it would be in the Exhibition Hall - bargain! There is an address book option, so if you like the fashions of a particular user created store, you can stop by another time to see if they have anything new in. Boutique managers from shops you have visited will visit your shop in game. If you decide to create your own online boutique, when somebody visits and buys one of your outfits, you can go online and collect the money earned from that outfit.