The first game in the Style Boutique a.k.a Style Savvy series, which released on the DS in 2008.
The game starts you out working as a clerk in a clothing store, working to match the wants and needs of the customers based on the style, color, and type of the clothing. As the game progresses, the player eventually is given their own fashion boutique to run by the owner of the store, and rich Bishōnen, Dominic. From that point, the player has to work to maintain a diverse stock while keeping the customers satisfied, build up store popularity, and eventually take part in fashion shows, where the player is tasked with assembling an ensemble from a limited number of parts to fit a general theme. Furthermore, while the player manages their store, they're also able to customize their own avatars, using the money they earn to purchase cosmetic changes, and receiving a copy of every purchased piece of clothing in their wardrobe. If the boutique gets popular enough, she can even design her own clothing items. Finally, the player can also run an online boutique and compete with other players in fashion competitions.
It is notable that it contains over 16 brands of a variety of styles, comprising of almost 10,000 items, resulting in a very deep Virtual Paper Doll game. More so, in that the boutique itself can be customized to attract different customers.
All over the world, Style Boutique received a surprisingly good reception, given the genre's tendency to fall into shovelware, and ranks as one of the best selling DS games. As such, it launched one of Nintendo's most popular and profitable series that nobody talks about.
This game provides examples of:
- American Kirby Is Hardcore: Or European in this case. Compare the luxurious background and gigantic shoe with America
◊ and Japan's◊ cute girls with clothes. - And Your Reward Is Clothes: If the player wins a fashion show, she'll obtain a special type of clothing not available in store. Winning the final fashion contest, the International Contest, not only gives the player one of the aformentioned pieces of clothing, but also the Contest Crown. Unlike the rest of the clothes won via contest, it is unsellable, and at $7,992, it is the most expensive item in the entire game.
- But Thou Must!: Missing a day will force you to attend to one of the available customers and if you fail to please them, your ranking will go down.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Dominic. Oh lord, Dominic. Reaches almost painful levels.
- Continuity Nod: Evie (Or as she's known in the American version of the second game, Michaela) is a supporting character and the player's mentor in the future games.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- The DS is held in a rather awkward sideways position; the later games use the standard 3DS position.
- There are quite a few features not present in later installments, such as hosting sales to increase the probability of customers, a separate category for tunics, being able to select the color of hair ties, not getting any money back for clothes gotten rid of, not being able to wear base layers as tops, being able to wear trousers and skirts at the same time, being able to advertise your shop, brands not having corresponding images, and the magazine feature having won a fashion contest.
- Customers almost never tell you exactly what brand, image, or color they want, leaving the player to deduce what they want themselves. If a customer asks for an outfit, you don't actually have to give them a complete outfit, as they'll wear what they were wearing previously in slots you didn't pick.
- You can keep giving characters the same articles over and over; in the 3DS games, they'll no longer accept clothes they've already bought, which can be hard to decipher.
- Characters reset back to their original wardrobe while in later installments, they'll wear the last clothes you've given them.
- There are specific hairstyles that can be worn up or down, which is not present in later installments.
- The customer can only see an item three times; in the first game they stick around, but in the 3DS games they leave.
- This is the only game in the series where your character has no other jobs outside running a boutique. The hangout locations are also temporary, and you will be asked if you want a picture of the memory before leaving.
- This is also the only game where your boutique doesn't open until later on; all later games have your boutique opened immediately upon startup.
- Customers give their opinion after you see how they look; in all other games, it's after.
- Your store has a ranking system, which increases based on the customers you serve. You need a certain amount of stars to compete in a higher level of the Fashion Contest, and if you miss a day of the game, your ranking will go down unless you serve the next customer which the game insists you do.
- Following a fashion show, you are taken back to your apartment, while in later games you simply return to the map.
- With the exception of Marble Lily and Raven Candle, there are a whole other set of brands in this game.
- Brand stalls are only open on particular days of the week, Sunday being the one day they're all open. Fashion Forward changes this to all brands being open whenever you visit the exhibition hall.
- Lovable Alpha Bitch: Renee is rather full of herself, but is still consistently helpful and supportive.
- Market-Based Title:
- We're using the European title for easier differentiation.
- In America, it's called Style Savvy.
- In Japan, it's Self-Indulgent Fashion: Girls Mode, or untranslated, Wagamama Fashion: Girls Mode.
- Only One Save File: There's only one save file.
- Palette Swap: This is what the clothing design minigame really comes down to. The company will send you a pre-made design and let you choose which two colors to use for it.
- She's a Man in Japan: Rococco, the woman who runs the fashion contests in the first game, was a flamboyantly gay man named Pario in the Japanese version, Wagamama Fashion: Girls Mode.
