RETRO CORNER

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF FASHION WITHIN THE SIMS FRANCHISE

Let’s talk about wardrobes.

Admittedly, I’m not a connoisseur of fashion myself, only having just recently found inspiration for my own style from Urban Outfitters, Pull and Bear, Monki, Minga London, my local vintage stores, and of course, Pinterest. However, as I love all things retro regarding The Sims, I’ve decided to take yet another trip down memory lane, looking back at some of the different clothing styles throughout the history of The Sims.

Fashion within The Sims franchise

shifted significantly throughout the years, allowing for a progressively more inclusive style of gameplay. Heavily influenced by styles from real-life fashion brands, we’ve seen certain styles come full circle in the most recent iterations of the fran-

chise. We’ve seen stuff packs feature clothing items and accessories from real-life clothing brands such as H&M, Diesel, and Moschino. More recently, we’ve seen Kits for The Sims 4 featuring a small selection of clothing ranging from celebrating Brazilian Carnaval spirit inspired by Pabllo Vittar, to clothing inspired by various real-life locations including Seoul airport fashions in Korea and Mumbai streetwear, to 90s inspired retro athleisure.

I hadn’t started playing The Sims until around 2006, so well into the 2000s era. Granted, I was only a wee thing, so my memories of early 2000s fashion include tops with bell and butterfly sleeves, mini denim skirts, chunky sandals, and flared trousers lots of flared trousers. Brands such

as Tammy Girl, Morgan, Groovy Chick, and New Look were a staple in my wardrobe. So, finding items of a similar style in the game was only natural.

Items of clothing in Create-A-Sim were

named Skins. These

were essentially a series of 256 colour

(8-bit) bitmap images corresponding to its numbered mesh file.

The game only

displayed very basic options, consisting of three skin tones per style; light, medium, and dark, and three body shapes; fat, fit, and skn (skinny), and a separate body shape, chd, for children.

With a suitable graphic designing programme such as Adobe Photoshop or even the basic Microsoft Paint, and The Sims Creator (a separate tool shipped with The Sims Deluxe Edition, and The Sims Complete Collection) Simmers could create their own skins and heads, compatible with the game. Meshes for new clothing shapes could also be created using an appropriate and compatible programme.

One of my favourite items shipped with House Party was the PortaParody Costume Trunk. Notably, some garments within this costume trunk are also available in Create-A-

Sim, such as this pink marble print co-ord. This “Disco” piece stood out for me particularly, as not only has the marble print returned to highend fashion in 2021, but also the style of the top and the flares have come back too! At random, a female Sim can change into the blue recolour of this costume, which reminds me of a similar co-ord set I

found recently on Boohoo.com!

Understandably, when The Sims was first released, it’s clear the developers wanted to establish some sort of story creation with a plethora of different outfits. However, as the game progressed, themed expansion packs added corresponding themed outfits.

The Sims 2 vastly expanded its choices of clothing, including separate tops and bottoms, as well as complete outfits. The graphic files were upgraded to 3D and all Simmers had the option to create their own clothing items using The Sims 2 Bodyshop with a suitable graphics editor and/or mesh creating software, similarly to The Sims Creator. A selection of previous clothing was also converted for The Sims 2.

Bitmap image Corresponding to the 2D model in the Sims

Clothing styles were also inspired by real-life stars such as this Avril Lavigne-inspired outfit featured in her attendance to

the 2002 MTV Video Music

Awards. What surprised me the most during my research, was just how accurate this design was to the real thing! Absolutely shook.

The camo print trousers are also available as separate bottoms, along with plain variants. I remember these coming back into fashion during the height of the pandemic in 2020, and yes, I bought a pair, and no, I haven’t found the confidence to wear

them just yet! Other items resurfacing in the online fashion world are bucket hats, American football jerseys and flared jeans, and the high school cheerleader outfits were inspired by a lot of high school teen

romcoms.

In addition, with over 100 new clothing items, The Sims 2 H&M Fashion Stuff Pack was the first (and in my opinion, the best) stuff pack in the franchise to feature clothing from a real-life clothing brand. I’ve also noticed what I believe to be Juicy Coutureinspired tracksuits for teens and young adults, and faux fur outfits shipped with Glamour Life Stuff Pack thrown into the mix as well.

The Sims 3 introduced an entirely new mode of customisation through Create-A-Style. Colours and patterns could be added to premade meshes from the base game, giving Simmers the creative freedom to customise pretty much anything and everything. I did find some pre-made items of clothing questionable when I first played the game upon release in 2009 and sought to spend my Sim points on more aesthetically pleasing styles in The Sims 3 Store. This online extension allowed Simmers to “shop” for separate items not included in packs. However, I only ever spent my points on discounted items as I am a frugal Simmer.

Unpopular opinion, but my favourite fashions of The Sims 3,

were included in Into The Future. The combination of the retrofuturistic with the Victorian inspired elements just suited the Utopian variation of Oasis Landing, immaculately.

This dress, for example, includes an exposed section of a Victorianinspired caged bustle skirt, which I love. In addition, the edges of this exposure are covered in a floral pattern, suggesting

Some styles are definitely seen in today’s fashion world, such as the detailing on the bottoms reflecting modern-day sports leggings. The jacket is definitely something I can see coming to the fashion world as a formal accessory.

Ultimately, Create-A-Style

revolutionised the creative world in The Sims franchise, with this element allowing full customisation and However, The Sims 4 felt like the franchise had taken a massive step backwards in this aspect. Personally, The Sims 4 clothing choices felt more restrictive for me. With the removal of Create-A-Style, the patterns and colours available were also heavily limited. Was this due to the stability of the game, or to allow for more accessibility for the lower-end spec machines? Possibly in both respects. There have been multiple issues with the top and bottom combinations not “snapping” together correctly, or bottoms covering boots, instead of being tucked in.

However, as the game expanded, so did the inclusion of styles. The Laundry Day stuff pack showcased some of my favourite Bohemian styles from the late 2010s and included a pair of jeans of similar variety that I absolutely adored in The Sims:

Bustin Out.

Discover University also had a selection of items that I would always use as

they were very modern. Sports leggings, leather jackets, and denim pinafores were clothes I would wear during my university days, so there’s also an element of nostalgia there for me.

The Iconic Red Dress

Throughout the ages

Obviously, the best example of one outfit that has altered throughout the franchise is none other than

Bella Goth’s iconic dress.

First shown in

The Sims, this easily recognisable garment has become the

basic found-

ational design for all four

iterations of the

game, and in its console

variations too.

Bella Goth’s

iconic midi tube dress appealed to the male audience of the era with

its figure-hugging, hourglass design. The red hues, with darker ribbonlike details, connote romance, lust, desire, and leadership; qualities that Bella displays within the game. It also suggests danger or mystery, which reflects the storylines suggested in The Sims 2. Paired with sheer tights and square toe ballet shoes, this is an outfit that can easily be replicated in today’s society, with both the garment and accessories coming full circle, once again. The console variant of The Sims also features a converted 3D version of the dress. However, The Sims: Bustin’ Out features a separate top and bottoms to create the “dress”. In this iteration, the style focuses on a strapless corset style top, and pencil skirt with a side slit. While the promotional photo of Bella Goth shows her dress as a deep red, in-game the colour is hot pink, mirroring the pink highlights in Bella’s now brown hair with auburn tones.

Similarly to Bustin’ Out, The Sims 2 also uses a separate top and bottoms to create the look. This

version is a 3D conversion of its predecessor, with a slightly brighter colouring and a velvety-textured finish. The trim, accessories and tights are of similar design with