I had a revelation yesterday. After publishing my review of fashion game Couture, one reader asked if I had mentioned my ignorance of the topic as a form of hedging, perhaps to distance myself from something that might be considered “girly.” After all, one recalls how Prêt-à-Porter, the fashion industry game by Ignacy Trzewiczek and Piotr Haraszczak, was derided by some as unworthy of attention because it wasn’t “serious.” Serious, of course, meaning manly. Like war, trains, stock trading, and painstakingly accessorizing a paper doll cutout for a dungeon dive.

But when I think back, I’m not sure I’ve ever thought of fashion as dominated by women. To me, dressing women in outfits and having them glide down the runway for a crowd’s viewing pleasure always seemed rather male-oriented. Still, the question made me realize something. While fashion has never struck me as inherently feminine, I have always thought of it as frivolous. Much like Anne Hathaway’s character in The Devil Wears Prada scoffing over the false choice of two near-identical belts, fashion inhabited my mind as an expensive pursuit for people with more money than sense.

Until I played The Battle of Versailles.

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