Stardoll Is Down: Now What?

Stardoll has been down for around 10 hours for some users, though others have only just begun to have issues.

So far, I'm betting they're just setting up for Miss Stardoll World and accidentally screwed up the wrong code in the process. But while we wait - and desperately hope this isn't the actual end of our beloved site - here's a few alternative things to do!

MySuperStyle

This was discovered by Stardoll users during the last Great Stardoll Blackout. It's another Swedish site, with arguably better graphics. You can earn money by either doing tasks - involving dressing up, changing your makeup, and visiting other members - or by doing an idling task, just click and wait for the bar to full up. You can also pay for a membership with game currency, so if you're patient, you won't need to spend a cent!

But, there site is sometimes slow, not everything is in English yet, and a number of older items no longer fit the dolls properly due to an update a while back.

Mall World

If you're friends with me on Facebook - well, you've probably seen the notifications. I've been playing for over 6 years now on my personal account. It's a wonderful freeplay within Facebook or on your Mobile, where you stock you shop, wait to sell, and use the profits to buy clothes! There's lots of friend interaction, and even more alternative styled clothing than on Stardoll - they even have a sister app where you can design clothing for both games! 

Probably the biggest downside is the huge number of member-only stores, but the membership costs (in New Zealand, at least) start at less than half of Stardoll's anyway.

LadyPopular

Love Nikki

If you're interested in Asian fashion - or really, any kind of non-stereotypical Western street styles - then this app is a must have. There's everything from Steampunk to Lolita to Gothic to Glam and everything in between. The storyline is adorable - though the ending may shock you - and the art is utterly gorgeous. Bonus? It's totally free-to-play with no ads at all!

Really, the biggest issue is just the broken English, which is totally easy to understand even when it's grammatically horrible

If you want to be the next Kardashian, then this is probably your kind of game. The graphics are a lot less 'high fashion' and a lot more Chibi-like than Stardoll, but there's still plenty of options in terms of clothes, and no lack of freebies. Rather than being about design and creativity, it focuses largely on...well, getting popular.

The biggest issue is the lagging, and the fact that the overall site looks so very much like 2010 never ended.

DivaChix

Uh... this app looks, at times, like a clone of LadyPopular, and at other times, like it's precursor. If LP never left 2010, DC never left 2007. But at other times, it looks totally modern. My point is, this game is a bit of a visual mess.

Yet, it also has a number of designing features and poses that Stardoll members might love, that LadyPopular goes without. The CYO (Create Your Own) aspect is a huge draw for anyone with visual art or graphic design skills.

GirlSense

This is basically Stardoll, circa 2006. It's fun, it's free, it's nostalgic, and works surprisingly well given it's age. But ... it is old, so, not good for much other than a nostalgia trip.

http://www.superstardressups.com

Quite literally, this ones is made and designed by the original Stardoll team - and it looks it. If you like old graphics, this is the app for you. There's a social area, and you can layer clothes, as well as dress up celebrities, just like on stardoll. There's literally thousands of items to pick from, and - other than new releases - it's free.

However, navigation is an absolute pain, and there's no design or suite aspect.

Episode

While not strictly fashion based, there's definitely some stories that revolve around the outfits you choose. Don't like the options they give you? The jump on the story writing site and make your own!

As a student writer, this was definitely helpful - perhaps unintentionally - with my studies. But if you're not into waiting around, or dislike drama, this is definitely not the app for you.

Kim Kardashian: Hollywood

If you're not already on this app - which can be accessed on Android, ios, or via Facebook - then you either already finished it when the hype train came, or you saw 'Kardashian' and ran a mile (which, honestly? Same.)

But there's lots of fashion items, various storylines, and plenty of Stardoll members who you can add and play alongside. The biggest issue is supporting the K-J Klan, or perhaps the fact they insist you absolutely *must* want a baby.

Stardom

Want the fame game, minus Kim K? Stardom was the precursor to KKH, with a similar storyline, rewards, lower pricing, and without the need for babies. Less people play it, though, so getting friend rewards and help - which the games heavily rely on - can be tricky.

Covet Fashion

I loved it in the early days - these days, it's more like a sinkhole for real money, or a timewater for free players. It's near impossible to enter anything without shelling out diamonds. Not to mention, the themes, available items, and voting system are geared to have the whitest, plainest, most generically red-carpet-esque outfits win, every time, which is incredibly boring.

But, if you have real money to spend, or don't mind spending a few hours voting between two equally mediocre looking outfits, this app will at least be a decent waste of your time - if nothing else.