When we first met Penelope, she was having trouble finding herself and her place within her family, especially under her mother's watchful eye. Then in the last episode of season one, we learn that she's actually the writer behind the town gossip column, Lady Whistledown. "With her big secret, she ultimately is a very wealthy young lady in her own right," says Ökvist. "With that, [she's] trying to find her new look."
Still, it's a balancing act because she doesn't want to tip anyone off to her hidden identity. "Her mother would go like, 'Whoa, what are you doing now with straightened hair?'" she says. "It has to be something [that] happens very subtly. You can't just go from wearing a lot of yellow to suddenly have navy blue."