Style Savvy: Fashion Forward

On your 16th birthday a letter from your grandmother arrives, containing a note and a key. This magic key unlocks the plastic door of a diorama, and out steps a doll-sized girl. After talking to the girl Sophie she realizes that your grandmother was the fashionista known by everyone in her town as the woman who could make people happy with fashion. She then invites you back into her world, to see the clothing store grandma used to run.

Syle Savvy: Fashion Forward is a further expansion of the Style Savvy series, containing the same dressup gameplay as past entries with new features to free your inner stylist. The core gameplay, and money-making component, is still based around selling clothes from the boutique. Customers browsing the boutique can be talked to to see what item they are looking for. If the player accepts the request they're taken to the backstock, where they try to match the customer's request, and the style of their other clothing. Customers all have a budget too, but can be persuaded to go slightly over it if they fall in love with the item. A customer's first request will be for a single item, but once they trust the player enough they will request a complete outfit, with a higher budget to match. All of the store's inventory has to be purchased beforehand by the player, which they will get at the Exhibition hall. Each clothing brand, who all specialize in a particular style, has a store in the hall, with a selection that rotates daily and is seasonal. Whenever a new item is purchased the player also receives a personal copy of it for their wardrobe. The interior, exterior, and window display of the boutique can all be customized, and will determine what sort of customers are attracted inside.

In addition to the boutique there are also a variety of side-jobs that can be taken on, such as the beautician, hairstylist, and modeling studio. The beautician and hairstylist take requests from customers the same as the boutique, and successful makeup and haircuts can be saved for future use. At the modeling studio the player can select from available gigs, put together an appropriate outfit for the job, then go on location to get the pose and shot that evokes the customer's demands. The game can take 2d or 3d screenshots at any time, and beyond just saving memories these photos can be given to the color expert and makeup kit designers to inspire them. New colors unlocked this way can be used for makeup, hairdye, and clothing design dyes.

Dressup, makeup, and hairstyling all come together for the fashion show, where the player has to match a theme with multiple outfits. If the fashion show goes well new customers will come into the shop, looking for a complete makeover from the local celebrity herself.

After completing the main storyline the clothing brands will be so impressed by the player's style sense that they will commission limited runs of new clothing. Each request will be for a specific kind of item, such as a bridal dress or a clutch, and then a requirement for the item's design. By talking to people in town the player can learn new patterns and accessories, and once a request is completed that same clothing style will be unlocked to make custom designs on the player's dime.

A new feature for Fashion Forward is the dollhouse, a magical building that turns doll furniture into full-size rooms. Each dollhouse room can be customized to the player's wishes, or designed around a theme, like cafe or boutique. New doll furniture can be purchased or received as gifts from characters in town, and if a room is impressive enough characters may ask to rent it.

If Streetpass is activated the game will share a selected dollhouse room with other 3DSes. The game also supports Amiibos, and scanning Amiibos from select (mostly female) Nintendo characters will summon a customer based on the system's Mii who is looking for an outfit to match their style. Completing their request will reward a unique item, like a Kirby purse or Lucinda's skirt, to the player's wardrobe.

The Japanese version of Fashion Forward had free, monthly updates that added seasonal clothing as well as clothing based on actual clothing brands. For the European and North American release the majority of seasonal items were rolled into the base game, and the licensed clothes not included. Unlike Trendsetters the boutique will not get male customers, but once the main storyline is completed the menu will have an option to dressup any male character in the game.