How I made a fashion boutique in Fallout 76

Tattered jackets, leather coats and hazmat suits? So hot right now. Or at least, they are in the world of Fallout 76, where parts of the landscape are literally on fire. And though high fashion may not immediately spring to mind when you think of the post-apocalypse, for the past few weeks it’s been the main source of my adventures in Appalachia. My desire to collect clothing has now superseded any other mission in the game, and I’ve even neglected the main storyline in my personal mission to stock the shop. I think the poor overseer is still sitting in her house somewhere, waiting for me to pay her a visit.

Establishing a fashion store in Fallout 76 was, obviously, never the main goal when I returned to Fallout 76 this year. In the middle of my investigations into whether the game had improved since launch (the answer: sorta), I realised that I had accidentally dressed my character as a rugged version of Anna Wintour – the global editor-in-chief of Vogue, and the inspiration behind The Devil Wears Prada’s Miranda Priestly. It seemed only right, then, that I should fully lean into this role, and create my very own fashion boutique in the middle of the wasteland.

You might be surprised to hear that there was actually some logic behind this endeavour. According to the collective wisdom of Reddit, if you want a successful business in Fallout 76, it’s better to focus your shop on a couple of item categories, like clothes or medicine. This makes it less confusing for any potential customers, who can spot your camp on the map, and head there with specific items in mind. I also realised that as a low-level player, there were few items of real value that I could offer to high-level players. In-demand items such as legendary weapons and rare plans were out of reach for me. But the convenience of hundreds of apparel items, all in one place, with a fun camp design to entice players inside? That, I could do.