Something I didn’t expect when I began playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons was how much it would evoke memories of playing dress-up and room styling flash games as a kid. Specifically, the Lizzie McGuire, My Scene, and Fashion Polly games. Although early ACNH gameplay surrounds building an island community and infrastructure, the longer you spend on your island, the more you decorate. Either the island itself, your house, islander houses, vacation homes, or, recently, hotel rooms. Styling your character gets a lot of in-game attention, too, from the hair and eye customization upgrades from Nook Miles, or the daily offerings from Able Sisters – you are motivated to play dress up. Sometimes, receiving Nook Miles for the simple act of changing your outfit. That is perfectly fine with me!

Moving away from flash games of my tweens, and into reading fashion magazines in my teens and 20s, it wasn’t as fun just looking at the fashion – I wanted to experiment. Which, I think, translates to a lot of us as shopping, because playing games is seen as childish. Since playing ACNH, I have found a new outlet to express the creative itch that has helped me explore my own personal style without playing into the shopping addiction that the current culture is infected with. Not to say I am immune, throughout college and too far into my adult life, I was stuck in a cycle of emotional spending and trend chasing. Most of the jobs I had were terrible, and that fed into the idea of treating myself as a trade-off. Not wise, nor was it satisfying.

Looking back on that time, playing around with different outfits and designing rooms, like I used to as a tween, was what I was looking for. Something to clear my head or try new things, without hauling new items or overhauling my living spaces. I think renting fed into this need to design a space that felt like me. I missed the customization of my childhood bedroom, in shades of purple with a wall of curated fashion ads pulled from Vogue, W, and Harper’s Bazaar. Although thankful for a roof over my head, those cookie-cutter rentals of beige and white feel soulless on purpose; they are not designed to have design.

Before ACNH was released in 2020, there was The Sims 4, which I played at the end of the 2010s and sort of satisfied my design game wishes. House building and customization were by far my favorite parts of gameplay. The clothing options were okay, sometimes a bit stifling because you dressed your sim for occasions and not simply to change the outfit. But my main gripe with The Sims 4 is the paywall DLC. How many gamepacks do you need to make it worth it? And how much money must you spend to get the full experience? It’s quite frustrating to get minimal variety from the base game, which you pay for just to spend money again and again to expand the catalog of clothing, hair, furniture, etc. It’s ridiculous!

Although ACNH costs 60 USD, you get a vast catalog of items, with one DLC game expansion – Happy Home Paradise for 20 USD. Some features are behind a Nintendo Online Membership, like Dreaming, Zelda items, Hello Kitty items, Nintendo throwback games, and Amibos, but nothing compared to The Sims 4. The game can be played daily without these elements and not feel like your catalog is incomplete, in my opinion.

The clothing catalog from ACNH is vast, with clothing for all seasons, from various cultures, and for specific occasions like professions or holiday offerings. When the shopping bug is eating at me, I like going on the game and buying a new outfit from Able Sisters with the imaginary currency of Bells. Even the act of dressing my house up or my character in a gameplay session can clear my head from wanting new things. The game provides that space to create and change it up that my mind desires, but keeps it to the sandbox. And isn’t that the point of most impulse purchases? We are chasing the feeling of new, so why spend real-life resources to consume endlessly? Just play a game.

What about curating your wardrobe or trying a new aesthetic? ACNH thrives on a perfectly curated aesthetic! The game literally awards you points each week, for the design level of your home. What I think has helped me the most, though, to push out the intrusive, trendy thoughts and find my style, is building a capsule wardrobe for my character and then changing it up. When I am feeling stuck in a design rut, I can explore outfits and a specific style through the game.

As you can see from these images of my character and her current wardrobe, I’ve been in a more casual mood in the game and in real life lately. I’ve been wearing casual separates, but that might be because my character had the outfits first. When I was in my dress phase, my character wore fancy, frilly dresses.

Is the clothing groundbreaking? No, but it’s darling. Look at that froggy tee! You can play around with different styles, such as these three outfits below. From left to right – Addams Family, Red Velvet’s Cosmic music video, and trying a style from another culture. That is one of my favorite parts of the game, getting the chance to style clothing from around the world in the context of my ACNH character.

Finally, ACNH has one specific style contribution to my wardrobe – hats, shoes, and bags. This game has retrained my brain to accessorize. Sometimes I clash with an unexpected combo – and I have learned the art of doing that before I buy or create in real life. I always have a hat when I leave the house. I never used to do that. Look at this inspiration, though! My outfits on Honeycrisp and in real life feel incomplete without the eclectic bag, statement hat, and an interesting pair of shoes.

So if you are feeling stuck in your style or struggling with overconsumption, may I suggest playing a game?