ORDINARY GIRL IN A TIARA – directed by Meeshelle Neal – (some spoilers) ⁓

Caro Cartwright

Supernatural forces are never referenced, but this is a fable full of magical things. Caro Cartwright (Katharine King So) is a curator of vintage fashion. She works at a shop run by Rudy (Rothaford Gray), who doesn’t pay her much so she is behind on rent payments to her friendly and very patient landlord Burt (Dimitry Chepovetsky).

Emma and Philippa

Philippa Levreaux (Kathryn Gallagher) is principal spokesperson for Levreaux Fashions, a company run by her mother Beverly (Kim Huffman). Both Caro and Philippa are friends with Emma (Chantelle Han) who also works for Levreaux. Emma is a mild-mannered number cruncher by trade, and has powers she herself might not fully comprehend. At Levreaux’s Fall & Winter Collection Launch Event, Philippa says, in an aside to Emma, “I expected way more plus than that. Is it this shade of blue? Does it look like mouthwash? Because to be honest, I find it kind of revolting.”

Brooke

Lurking nearby is fashion blogger Brooke (Jessica Rose), who records Philippa’s moment of fashion clarity.

Philippa tells Brooke to delete the recording, but she doesn’t and it’s soon all over the news. Philippa’s mother Beverly tells her to get out of town until things blow over, because a merger with (fictional) fast fashion company Fashion Scotia is in the works. Philippa likes the merger idea even less than she likes the new, blue Levreaux line. (“Fast Fashion” involves rapid production of inexpensive, low-quality clothing that often mimics big-name brands and independent designers. It offers new trends at cheap prices by exploiting workers in third world countries, and most of the clothing produced ends up in landfills.)

Philippa and Emma

Instead of meekly boarding the company yacht, Philippa bribes Emma to find her a place to stay while she figures out how to stop the merger. Emma decides that her friend Caro’s apartment would be the perfect fit. Caro is in the business of repurposing vintage clothing to make fashion affordable in a sustainable way, and that dovetails nicely with Philippa’s opposition to the merger, but Philippa and Caro have a history.

Rudy

Ten years ago at Levreaux Fashion Camp, the two women were best friends and were probably in love. Both competed in a “found item competition” to win an internship at Levreaux. Caro was too timid to go onstage in her found outfit, so Philippa wore it for her, and when it won, took credit for the design and got the internship. The two have had no contact since.

Philippa bribes Caro, whose landlord is getting impatient about the rent, into hiding her. Caro disguises Philippa in vintage clothing, and the two get to know one another again.

Young Caro

Events conspire to get Caro and Philippa working together. First, Rudy doesn’t want his shop to have a booth in the Great Global Village Market, and agrees only when Caro says she will do all the work. Second, Rudy’s oldest customer, Iris (Darlene Cooke), for whom Rudy has provided seven gowns for seven weddings, comes to Rudy’s shop for gown number eight, but Rudy can find nothing that pleases her, so Iris hires Caro to find something that will make her “shine like a chandelier”.

Gabi (Khadijah Salawu) and Emma (Chantelle Han) — Salawu is also Jesse in Thyrone Tommy‘s musical romance LEARN TO SWIM.

When Caro and Philippa had their falling out, each grabbed hold of the plastic tiara that Philippa was awarded and it split in two. Each kept their half-tiara, and Philippa also kept a vintage dress from the better days of Levreaux design. After a magical night at the site of the contest that kept them apart for ten years, Philippa gives the dress to Caro because it is perfect for Iris’ eighth wedding. Not everything after that goes smoothly, but Emma’s puckish deceptions have the eventual effect of making everyone else honest.

Burt and his daughter

Executive Producer Craig Cegielski told Morgan Pryor of Swoon “Ordinary Girl in a Tiara is about owning who you are, embracing your differences, and realizing that love in all its forms is what makes life extraordinary. Fairy tales evolve, but the emotional truth never changes: Everyone deserves to be seen, loved, and celebrated for exactly who they are.”