Why everyone's talking about Dress to Impress

You may or may not have heard of Dress to Impress – a game within Roblox that's taking the world by storm. In it, you show off your fashion sense and creativity, strutting your stuff to create the best outfit based on a given theme. As you climb the rankings in each round, you'll also advance closer to earning the coveted title of Top Model.

Different styles and fashion eras are represented within the styling options, from Y2K to streetwear and Lolita fashion, giving you the freedom to blend your personal style preferences with popular trends and niche aesthetics. While it may sound a little unusual to you, it's been a sure-fire hit with Roblox fans, racking up over 3 billion visits since its launch and retaining hundreds of thousands of players giving it their all to become the next runway star.

When you join a Dress to Impress (or DTI, for those in the know) lobby, you're assigned a theme that could range from the tangible 'preppy' to the abstract 'anime' or even 'fairytale'. From there, you'll enter a dressing room full of clothes that you can layer and recolour to suit your artistic vision.

After that, you can add accessories, visit the hair and makeup salon, and even get your nails done to pull the whole look together. It's not easy being a fashionista – and you don't have much time to get the job done (five minutes, to be exact)!

Once the timer has run out, you'd better be ready to strut your stuff down the runway. If you fancy striking a pose (or three) to really seal the deal, now's the time – it might even help your score. The other players will rate your fit from one to five stars. Then, final rankings will be revealed via a glamorous podium.

Dressing-up games have been around since well before we started using computers or smartphones, ranging from paper dolls in the mid 19th century to Barbie, Bratz and the dolls that have come to define the intersection between style and entertainment. It's easy to see how Dress to Impress fulfils this same historic and cultural need for personal expression and creativity, giving players access to a gigantic virtual wardrobe with just the click of a mouse or the tap of a screen.

DTI provides an array of clothing and patterns to experiment with, an in-game chat to build a community and a responsive development team that reacts quickly when issues arise. It's managed to capture the attention of streamers, celebrities and brands alike. The game's collaboration with Charli XCX even added 'Brat'-themed items to the game, helping it to reach even greater levels of popularity.

Plenty of memes have been born from all of the dressing room and runway shenanigans of Dress to Impress. Whether it's players copying another's outfit in plain sight (talk about a fashion crime), interpreting themes in wacky ways or recreating poses in real life, these trends are further evidence that Dress to Impress has struck gold with a vibrantly engaged community.

You can tailor your DTI experience based on your expertise and preferences with the server options provided. There are even 'Pro Servers' that you can join after reaching a certain rank, setting you up against equally matched competitors where the rankings are taken a little bit more seriously. You can also purchase the VIP pass, which will grant you access to an additional room with even more clothes and accessories.

Another thing to bear in mind is that everyone interprets themes differently, which can work to your advantage. Instead of going with the usual vibe for a given theme, consider adopting a unique spin on it that's more playful and out-of-the-box. You never know who'll appreciate your creativity and wittiness when the time for voting comes.

And, if you want to get really into it, you can explore the very meta DTI lore. That's right – Dress to Impress has lore. For those wanting to unravel a mystery, look into the nail tech and their sinister ties to an 'organisation'; you won't be disappointed.