Basic Trope: A person or people are seeking a person who fits a specific article of clothing.
- Straight: Prince Wonderful is looking a maiden who fits a slipper of hers that she left behind at last night's ball.
- Exaggerated: Prince Wonderful is seeking the maiden who fits a slipper that she left behind. And a tiara, necklace, and even garter.
- Downplayed: Prince Wonderful puts out the message to check maidens to see if they fit the slipper, but it's more of a "No rush, do it when you get the chance" kind of order.
- Justified:
- Prince Wonderful fell into Love at First Sight and wants to marry the maiden, but he has no idea how to find her and the slipper is the only lead he has to go on.
- Prince Wonderful knows the slipper is magical. It can ONLY fit that maiden and so she's literally the only person who could wear it.
- Prince Wonderful wants to return the slipper to her owner, and obviously it would have to fit her first.
- Inverted:
- Prince Wonderful wants to find the maiden who can't fit that slipper.
- The maiden realizes her slipper is missing and goes to find it.
- The slipper becomes sentient and hopes to find the maiden.
- Subverted: Prince Wonderful holds up the slipper to his guards and tells them to go out and seek the maiden who wore this...and ask her questions about the ball and bring him the maiden who answers them correctly.
- Double Subverted: ...and when that maiden arrives, he'll have her try on the slipper.
- Parodied: The slipper becomes sentient and hypnotizes Prince Wonderful to find the maiden. This is done by glorifying the slipper, building statues to it and even declaring a holiday, just so the maiden reveals herself.
- Averted:
- Prince Wonderful asks the maidens of the land about the ball and what they remembered about the mystery woman. If the slipper is even brought up, it's only to ask if they recognize it. And if they aren't the maidens in question, they are asked to help identify her since they still might've seen her at the ball.
- Prince Wonderful only cares about the slipper because it's not his property and he wants to return it to its owner.
- Enforced: The producers are aware of the romance of the trope and enforce it.
- Lampshaded: "You know there's only one woman in all the world who has a size 8 1/2."
- Exploited:
- Count Diabolicus the Evil Sorcerer sees Prince Wonderful going on this scheme and enchants the slipper so that it fits an assassin who will kill Prince Wonderful when he brings her to the palace.
- Count Diabolicus enchants the slipper to kill anyone who wears it after one day. So after so many women are murdered, the people rise up and violently overthrow Prince Wonderful.
- Prince Wonderful realizes the slipper's owner was a thief who robbed the castle treasury, and so he's using it as a lure to get the thief to reveal herself.
- Defied:
- Prince Wonderful is aware that the slipper as an ID tag is a stupid move and refuses to have maidens try it on.
- The slipper, which is sentient, considers this whole plot demeaning and changes its size so it fits no one.
- Implied: Prince Wonderful tells the kingdom that the maiden who fits the slipper will be his bride. In a later seen, Prince Wonderful is seen with his new wife Princess Alicia, who is wearing both of the slippers.
- Played for Laughs: When Prince Wonderful tells the kingdom to find the maiden with the slipper, the slipper grows a mouth and sings a mournful number about being all alone without its partner.
- Played for Drama:
- Prince Wonderful becomes obsessed with finding the woman who wore the slipper, to the point where he neglects his kingdom and they are conquered.
- Since a slipper says nothing about the person other than foot size, the maiden and Prince Wonderful are a poor match and they despise each other. They eventually end up killing each other.
- Played for Horror: The slippers are a Doomsday Device, and when they are reunited, Prince Wonderful's kingdom is obliterated.
Seek out everyone in the kingdom, good troper, and when you find The Girl Who Fits This Slipper, bring her back here!
