I'm having trouble getting Esmerelda how do I know if clothing was released before 2012? And do I need to have an invite to unlock her as well?

Thank you.

you can visit Subeautique-the-location whether or not you have an Invite or not. Since you are not going there to buy anything but to trigger the Challenger, it should not matter that you get an error message when you go. I can't prove this for sure because I always make sure I have an Invite redeemed, but it's worth trying because it worked with Gunther when the Spring Street Brewery was closed.

There is a fansite called Subetalodge that allows you to sort by date added to site in their Item Database. Your own Wardrobe also allows you to sort that way. Compare the two lists with the "only show things you own" box checked in your Wardrobe.

It doesn't matter at all if they're all the same layer or all the same item with color variation or don't go with each other. I got Esmerelda (without realizing how to get her) by just going randomly twenty five pages and picking out three items and going twenty five pages and picking out three items over and over again until I met my layer-limit. The end result was a mess, but it worked.

I think you do need an active invite to unlock her.

And as far as knowing how old the items are, I would recommend just using the oldest items you have in your wardrobe (sort by "added to site" and view the oldest ones), or if that doesn't seem to work you can view all items on site and sort by when they were added to the site and look at the oldest items and try to find some cheap ones.

Thank you so much for the help. I got her just a few moments ago. It looks like you do have to have an invite to activate her.

you are welcome, and now I know about the Invite-thing for sure.