Turning heads: the look meter at every dress code in Malta Living

Clothes in Malta Living have counted for a while: dress for a place's code and you get a little more out of it. Now the game shows you how well you've dressed, and the people around you say so. If you've wanted an outfit that matters in a life sim, beyond the numbers, this is it: a meter with three steps, and a bay full of people who notice. New to the game? Start with what kind of Malta life simulator this is.

Three steps, never a score

Every place with a dress code (beaches, gyms, clubs, galas and festas) now shows a meter at the top of its panel when you're there:

• Off. Nothing you're wearing fits the code. Nothing is taken away: you still swim, train or dance as before. The staff might tease you, kindly, once.
• Fits. You're wearing a piece made for the code: swim shorts at the beach, a sports vest at the gym, a shirt or a dress for a night out. This is Dress the part, the extra Fun you already know.
• Turning heads. Fits, plus the finishing touch (an accessory made for the code), plus one sign the look is put together.

There's no number on it and nothing to grind. It's a picture of how you look, the way a friend would see it.

What "put together" means

You need one of two things:

1. Matching colours. Your top and one of your accessories are the same colour. A red tee and a straw sun hat with a red band. A navy dress and a navy clutch. The meter's card says it plainly: "Swim shorts · straw sun hat · red, matching".
2. A saved outfit. You're wearing an outfit you saved for an occasion in Boutique: the one you keep for the beach, a party, a gala or a festa. Saving it once means one tap at the door to change into it, and now it also counts as put together.

Both are about effort, not money. Every code has free pieces that fit it, and every code has a free finishing touch: flip-flops for the beach, white trainers for the gym, plain studs for a night out, a plain watch for a gala, a beaded bracelet for a festa. Free tops come in every colour, and so do most accessories. So all three steps can be reached without spending a cent.

People notice

As you arrive, the person working there says one line about your look, once a visit:

• On Turning heads, they name the pieces in Boutique's words: "Straw sun hat and swim shorts. Proper beach day."
• On Fits, a short nod: "Swim shorts: that works."
• On Off, a gentle tease: "Jeans at the beach? Brave."

At the beach it's the lifeguard; at the gym, the coach; on a night out, the bartender; at a gala, the host; at a festa, a band club volunteer. Nobody teases you at work, in front of customers.

Locals react too. When you're turning heads, someone nearby always does a double take: "Where's that straw sun hat from?" When your look just fits, a local says something one visit in three ("Nice swim shorts."). They never comment when you're Off.

Social, once a place a day

Turning heads is worth Social +3, once a place each Malta day. Arrive at Golden Bay looking sharp and you get it; come back later the same day and you don't get it again; head over to the Blue Lagoon and you can turn heads there too. The next day it starts afresh.

The extra Fun stays exactly as it was: +20% for dressing for the code, and 5 points more with the finishing touch (+25% at the beach, +30% at a gala). Turning heads adds no new percentage. It adds the Social, and the people.

How to get there in a minute

1. Open the phone and go to Boutique (or walk into the shops at The Point). Pick a top and a bottom that fit where you're heading.
2. Under Accessories, add the free piece for that code, or one you own, in the same colour as your top.
3. Or skip the matching: save the outfit for the occasion, and wear it.
4. Go. The meter tells you where you are the moment you arrive, and it updates if you change clothes there.

Malta's busiest sandy beaches have lifeguards on duty through the bathing season (Malta Tourism Authority). In the game, they're the first to tell you your hat looks good.

Questions people ask

Do I need to buy anything to turn heads?

No. Every code has free pieces that fit it and a free finishing touch, and free tops and most accessories come in every colour. Match the colours, or save the outfit for the occasion, and you're there.

Why didn't I get Social this time?

Turning heads gives Social +3 once a place each Malta day. If you already turned heads there today, the meter still shows it, but the Social comes again tomorrow, or at another place with a dress code.

Does being Off cost me anything?

Nothing. You still get everything the place gives; you just miss the extra for dressing for it. The staff may tease you once, kindly, and never while you're working.

Play now and see what the lifeguard thinks of your hat.