When I started the 30 For 30 For 12 Challenge in February 2012, I gave myself the leeway to have one "Wild Card" outfit per month, so that I could wear whatever I wanted for a special occasion. It was intended as a break from the same old 30 items that were in each month's capsule, and as a chance to show off some of my costume-y outfits and party dresses that might not fit that well into a capsule.
The one-per-month fell quickly by the wayside, but I kept track of all the
Wild Cards and wrote about them in the
monthly recaps, always saying there would be a vote for Favourite Wild Card at the end of the challenge. Well, here it is!
You can click on the dates to go back to the original posts and see more pictures and details of the outfits. Don't be swayed by the poses in the below pictures - I've chosen what I think are the best pictures overall for this summary. I encourage you to re-visit these posts and really pick the one that is your complete and utter favourite.
Choose carefully! You will only get to pick ONE Wild Card outfit!
1. Floral Festivus
I wore this outfit for our "F**k It, It's Festivus" Party in mid-February. The dress only lasted one wearing - I recently gave it away, as I found the print not quite right on me. The hat was custom-made for me by Tierre Joline and its sister also appeared in a Wild Card outfit. Out of 18 Wild Card outfits, 8 of them featured a hat.
2. Avenger at the Art Gallery
Doing my best Emma Peele pose! I wore this to an Urbanite event at the Art Gallery the weekend we got the news that Inigo was sick. I also wore this dress only once - I ended up sending it to the lovely Megan Mae (
here she is in it). The boots were featured in the first capsule - love them!
3. Steampunk Blue and Black
We went to the Victoria Steampunk Expo in late April and had a blast. I put together all of the outfits mostly out of pieces from my closet. I couldn't limit myself to one Wild Card outfit, so this is the month I first went with multiple Wild Cards. I'm going to leave these as separate for voting purposes.
I wore this outfit to an absinthe tasting. Neither the coat nor the blue skirt made it into capsules (the corset top did), but they are still in my closet, so you'll see them at some point and get to vote on them.
4. Steampunk Victorian Ribbons and Ruffles
For Day 2 of the Steampunk Expo, including the dance that evening, this ensemble was worn for a total of 12 hours. It was my most elaborate outfit, involving a pulley construction built out of curtain rings and ribbon. The olive maxi skirt, the leather vest and the plaid jacket all made it into future capsules, as did the then-new Fluevog boots.
5. Steampunk Victorian Punk
This is the simplest of the three steampunk outfits, but still dramatic with the black accessories. Most of these pieces live in my costume box except for special dress-up times. The boots all appeared in later capsules, as did many of the "normal" clothing items. The blouse has yet to be worn outside of this outfit, so it will appear at some point for voting on its own merits.
6. Spanish Ladies at a Recital
I wore this to see my nieces perform in a dance recital up at the University. This is the first time I wore a "normal" dress vs. a dress-up piece or costume for a Wild Card. All of the pieces later appeared in capsules.
7. Tiki Retro-Steampunk
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| June 3, 2012 |
I wore this for L's birthday party (theme: "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy") - a mix of a vintage dress, Fluevogs and a steampunk arm bracer.
8. Lettuce and Turquoise
I wore this to our friends Greg and Candace's house party - it was perfect for a hot July afternoon. The lettuce dress got an outing (it wasn't ever featured in a capsule) and I got to wear my beloved turquoise Fluevogs again.
9. Satin and Animal Prints
I wore this for our friend Nick's birthday party. It was a hot August night, and I'd just thrifted this lovely dress for $18.50 a few days before. These shoes never made it into a capsule - neither did the dress (although it was featured in another Wild Card outfit).
10. Kim Cattrall's Suit
The first wear of Kim Cattrall's suit that I'd found on consignment earlier in the month. I wore this out for dinner and drinks with Elaine. This Pink Tartan suit was featured in the November all-neutral capsule. The orange blouse and the Ralph Lauren pumps were featured in previous capsules.
11. Birthday Wine
I wore this locally-made (consignment-purchased) Bridget Savard dress for my birthday party - a whole slew of friends, both in real life and in the fashion blogosphere, joined the party! I had fun playing with the unique shape of this dress.
October, November and December were party-heavy for us this year, so I did a bunch of extra Wild Card outfits. Relaxing the "rules" at this point felt right - I don't think I overused the Wild Card as an excuse at any point.
12. Steampunk Vampire Slayer
Oh, this was the wildest night of the year, for sure! L and I went to our first Hallowe'en event and I (ahem) overindulged quite a lot. This marks the first time I've worn a wig on the blog. My Fluevog boots are in their third Wild Card outfit, and the steampunk bracer also appears again.
13. Gallery Plaid
I wore this to a gallery opening that was mostly in the dark, so it may have not gotten its best viewing in person, but I like it in the pictures. These Fluevog boots also got worn more than once in a Wild Card, as well as being featured in a capsule. This dress didn't make it into a capsule, but it's been a favourite since I first got it.
14. Glamour Girl
Another Urbanite event at the Art Gallery - this outfit (maybe it was the boobs?) was a hit with both men and women. Neither the top nor the bottom made it into any capsules, although I've had both for years. The skirt is a one-of-a-kind sample and I adore the brocade. The shoes were featured in the June all-neutral capsule.
15. Company Gown
This long brown gown was worn to my company Christmas party - it's dramatic and such an awesome dress on. I've since passed the dress along, since I had several wears out of it pre-blog. This is the sister to the red Tierre Joline hat worn earlier in the year.
16. Brown Satin Redux
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| December 8, 2012 |
This brown satin dress is the only (non-accessory) item aside from shoes that made it as a repeat in a Wild Card outfit - I wore this in August as well. It served well as a frame for my vintage necklace and earrings. The blue shoes were featured in one of the previous spring's capsules.
17. Stained Glass
This was worn to our friends Nick and Karen's Christmas party, and I went with this statement "stained glass" dress. The black boots were also worn in several Wild Card outfits this year.
Many of my Wild Card outfits have featured obis and my punk cuffs, oddly. I think I have a strong bias to punk/steampunk looks when I dress up!
18. New Year's Eve
And the last, but certainly not least Wild Card outfit! I wore this ensemble for New Year's Eve, incorporating a bit of costume and a fair chunk of leather for a bit of a steampunk vibe.
Okay, are you ready? Vote for your favourite - remember, only ONE vote, so pick carefully!
I'd also like to hear what you thought of the idea of Wild Cards during this year. Do you think they were useful for me in the capsule challenge overall? Any themes you liked in particular? Disliked? What were your second or third favourites? Least favourite?
Next weekend, I'll be covering the Favourite Outfits of the Year! I'll be revisiting the voting in the recap posts, so now's your chance to go back and vote for your favourites if you haven't already done so! We'll be voting on the top 36 most-liked outfits of the year, based on the top 3 highest votes received in each month.
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I love, love, love that stained glass dress. So funky and colourful. :)
ReplyDeleteOkay, I've seen the term "Steampunk" on your blog but never knew what it meant. So I just looked it up. And now I know. Thank you for expanding my horizon.
ReplyDeleteYour outfits are amazing. Your creativity is laudable.
You're killing me!!!
ReplyDeleteI love so SO many of these wild cards!
I'm pretty sure I could pick 4......Steampunk Blue and Black, Steampunk Victorian Ribbons and Ruffles, Tiki-Retro Steampunk and Gallery Plaid..........but there's just SO much goodness here, I love it all!
XXX
This was a hard one! I really loved your steampunk looks, but the stained glass dress won out. It's just too fabulous!
ReplyDeleteWow!! Wow!! Wow!! The best fashion show on earth right here! I'm serious. Sheesh, you have a breathtaking wardrobe!
ReplyDeleteSEVEN!!!! All your outfits are amazing, especially the wild cards, number 7 wins my vote! I love the bracer, the boots, and the colors of the dress.
ReplyDeleteYou make all the clothes look good, Miss Wild Card! Not only do you have a fabulous figure, but you look good in every color!
ReplyDeleteI think the stained glass dress was my favorite garment of these, but I liked your steampunk outfits better as outfits because they pulled together many different items. They don't rely on just one (fabulous!) piece to make the ensemble. I really enjoyed the wild card outfits and this whole challenge. I read a lot of fashion blogs (dozens and dozens), but yours is my very favorite. You combine interesting garments in interesting ways! I don't comment much (and I think I may have done so under a different name in the past) but I always look forward to seeing what you wear.
ReplyDeleteSheila.....you passed on the most beautiful dresses! You look adorable in every single photo and outfit, but the first, fitted floral dress was a knockout! And the brown evening gown...wow.
ReplyDeleteWhilst I love your steampunk outfits and the thought and detail you put into them, I think my favourite has to be the satin and animal prints. That brown satin dress is to die for!
ReplyDeleteAh it was so hard to pick just one that I liked, I kept changing my mind the more I scrolled! haha! I really like all of your steampunk looks - they are so intricate and detailed it's really nice and different :)
ReplyDeleteI really liked several of these outfits. They are fabulous.
ReplyDeleteThis was tough! Love steampunk-anything, and the stained glass is fab, but I voted for the Spanish ladies. That full skirt is just the best!
ReplyDeleteThe wild cards were some of my favorite outfits each month during this challenge - while I loved seeing how you remixed each capsule, the wild card was usually a little something different and often something super unique and fun. My favorite was number 13, but only because I'm such a plaid freak!
ReplyDeleteThis was SO HARD!! I loved all of them!! My second choice was the Spanish Ladies outfit--because the cool print inspired me to make some "statement print" skirts!!
ReplyDeletegreat selection of outfits.
ReplyDeleteWow, Sheila, there are some stunning looks here! You absolutely rock the steam punk outfits, they are amazing. I am loving the green dress (beautiful colour on you), the stained glass print is fabulous, and for understated sexy chic, the brown gown is elegance personified. Beautiful! xxx
ReplyDeleteToo hard to pick just one! Just like Tamera, I chose another (The Steampunk Vampire Killer because of the sheer drama and creativity) but LOVED the Spanish Ladies Outfit.
ReplyDeleteWell that was pure torture having to choose just one!! LOL. I love, love all the steampunk ones, and the gallery plaid is awesome!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Lynn
I could only vote for one, but I wanted to vote for others. The stained glass dress was, to me, the perfect Sheila outfit for a party/special event; the colors, the vintage style and the sassy attitude are just so YOU.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I LOVED all the steampunk outfits, but more as costumes (which is what they are), and I loved seeing them on your blog. I don't quite get the appeal of steampunk in general, but seeing them on you makes it make sense. And the look is perfect for you, for many of the same reasons the stained glass dress works so perfectly for you too. I totally want to see you wear more steampunk for us, pretty please!
Oh my gosh!! So.hard.to.choose. Okay, biting the bullet. These are just super fantastic outfits, each and every one of them! xx
ReplyDeleteI have several favorites.... but picked one : the Spanish ladies.
ReplyDeleteMy second pick was the Company gown - you look ready for a red carpet event.
I've been confounded by having to choose just one, but #4 has my heart, despite #'s 11 and 18 and so many others (brown satin! Spanish Ladies!) being so fabulously fabulous. This was hard!!! You are amazing at special occasion-wear outfits, they all look so joyful.
ReplyDelete