Coco Dress Up 3D - Review

 

 

Bottom Line: Extensive dress-up-a-doll app with 400+ clothing and accessory options, including a dinosaur costume! It makes creative use of technology, and it’s even free to try (with in-app purchases). There are social media and external links, however, and the full set of items costs $4.99.

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When I first opened Coco Dress Up 3D, I wanted to not like it. I try to avoid anything that reinforces stereotypes about what girls like or should look like, and a girl figure standing in underwear while posing made me initially worried.

Always wanting to give every app a fair shot, I started looking at all of the dress up options available for Coco. Developer Linqsoft quickly won me over with the inclusion of a wide variety of options, and even the skimpy outfits aren’t really that revealing. Most of the clothes look like outfits that are already in my daughter’s dresser or her dress up box. Even the underwear is really more like shorts and a bandeau top.

The premise of this app is simpleâ€"the user chooses an ensemble for Coco, all nicely sorted into categories. There are hats and hair accessories, shirts and jeans, dresses, shoes, glasses, jewelry, gloves, and purses. Coco herself can also be changed: hairstyle and color, eye color, eyelash color, and skin tone can all be modified. The app earned big bonus points by having all skin tones available on the free app.

As Coco’s outfits are chosen, she is in constant motion with various poses. This was the part of the app that was probably initially most off-puttingâ€"my initial thought was that it would be objectifying. However, though some of it is annoying (I never will understand the “V” with the fingers held up by the eyes, and I wear my old biddy status proudly), none of it is really inappropriate. 

The graphics are greatâ€"Coco almost looks real, and she twirls around to be viewed from all angles. After the outfit of choice is selected, Coco can be transported to one of fourteen different background scenes, from a beautiful floral path to a disco party. This is where the real creativity of the app shines. The user can turn, spin, shrink, or enlarge Coco to fit best into the scene. And there is even a mute button when the incessant music sends another parent over the edge. This is truly the way to my app-loving heart.

Pictures from the device’s camera roll can also be usedâ€"Coco can play a game with your child, or stand in your living room. She spent some time picking out a book to read in my therapy room, too. When the scene is just right, the red camera button on the screen takes a picture of Coco at that exact moment, which can be added to the camera roll, sent by email, shared on Facebook, or emailed to enter in the Super Stylist Contest. It’s realistic enough that the camera caught Coco in a blink more than once!

The contest is a great ideaâ€"the child is encouraged to write a story about Coco in the picture. I am in favor of any activity which encourages this kind of creativity and literacy. The pictures are compiled and all visible on the dressing room screen by tapping the crown. 

There were just a few things I’d like to see improved on this app:

• There are ads for the developer's other apps and while there are at least a few options for each category, the rest are all locked and required an in-app purchase, so this is what Ron calls a hard-sell app. 

• There are a good many external links in this app: Facebook, Twitter, In-App Purchases, and other apps. On an app that many young girls will use, it would be better to have them less accessible. The developer does say that no data is collected, but I know this is a deal-breaker for many, many parents.

• While I appreciate the different skin tone and hair colors, there is no true curly hair. I want my daughter to grow up loving her curls, not trying to change them to straight. There weren’t any hairstyles that look like my daughter’s braids, either.

• Tall boots can’t be worn with jeans? Is Indiana that out of it in the fashion world? I’m sure it’s related to some programming issue, but there were a few times when the selected choice was not compatible with the already-chosen items. When Coco’s hair is in ponytails, she can’t wear a big hat, for example, and she can’t wear glasses with a dinosaur costume.

• The background options are mostly a bit “girly”, and some of the costumes, tooâ€"Police officers do not wear dresses on the job, even if they are women. I’d love to see some more backgrounds that don’t play into gender stereotypes.

• Sometimes I just wanted Coco to stop moving, although I doubt this bothers many in the target demographic.

Coco Dress Up 3D is a free app, but to unlock everything is a $4.99 in-app. My kids really enjoyed it. Even my 9-year-old son wanted to check it out. He asked, “Mom, can I make a ridiculous one, please??” So, I'd say it's definitely worth a look, with the hope that the external links will be removed in the next update. 

 

 

Heather Hetler wants to know where Coco bought some of her clothesâ€"her wardrobe needs an update! (this is my representation of me) 

Linqsoft Ltd. is an advertiser at smartappsforkids.com.

source: www.smartappsforkids.com