Barbie Fashionistas

Zift Advisory

Note: This app is no longer available in the App Store and the Google Play Store. The Barbie Fashionistas allows users to virtually dress up and style dolls. It is available in the App Store and the Google Play Store, is rated for users of all ages, and features in-app purchases. This app is safe for kids.

About Barbie Fashionistas

What is Barbie Fashionistas?

Note: This app is no longer available in the App Store and the Google Play Store.

The Barbie Fashionistas app is a tie-in game for the Fashionista line of Barbie dolls. Each doll comes with a ring which can be used as a stylus within the app, and the models and fashions featured in the app are modeled after the Fashionista dolls.

This app is available for download in the App Store and the Google Play Store and is rated for users of all ages. Barbie Fashionistas features in-app purchases.

The Fashionistas game is a design and styling app for younger fans, letting them try their hand at dressing up and styling their dolls within a virtual fashion studio.

There are two main play modes in the Fashionista games – Ultimate Closet and Design Studio. In Fashionistas Design Studio, kids can alter the fabrics and color patterns of their doll's clothes, with simple and intuitive controls and immediate feedback.

Kids can modify their virtual doll, as well, to an extent, choosing from a variety of skin tones and hair colors.

In the Ultimate Closet mode, kids can dress their doll from a wide range of available outfits and styles, chose a background to pose against, and take pictures of their creations.

Is Barbie Fashionistas safe for my kids?

While the Barbie Fashionistas game is safe for children, there are two things which may be of concern for parents.

First, the Barbie Fashionistas app relies very heavily on in-app purchases in the form of new shirts, pants, dresses, and accessories for your child to use.

As the game is designed for preschool-age children through ten-or-so years of age, parents are strongly encouraged to set parental controls on purchasing activity via their mobile device and communicate clearly with older children regarding rules and expectations for online purchases (if any).

The default, free options for the Barbie Fashionistas app are somewhat limited, so expect to have this conversation early and often as your child plays the game.

The second area of concern is the potential effect of this app on the developing body image expectations of young women and girls.

While Mattel, creators of the Barbie line of dolls and products, have made a responsible and credible effort to represent a wider range of body types in their products, they still have a way to go. In the Fashionistas app, for example, you can select a diverse range of skin tones – but only one, ideal body type.

In 2016, Mattel announced it would begin selling dolls with a more realistic range of body types following years of research tying children's toys and body image representations to eating disorders, low self-esteem, and self harm.