Kate Middleton Has Worn Her Alexander McQueen Gown From Eugenie's Wedding Before

If only I had my favorite dress in two different shades.

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

Did the outfit that Kate Middleton wore to Princess Eugenie's royal wedding on Friday look familiar? If it did, it's not your mind playing tricks on you: It's a nearly-identical match to a dress she wore last year.

Kate wore the exact same dress (also by Alexander McQueen and everything) in a slightly lighter shade of pink in June 2017 for Trooping the Colour. At the 2017 celebration, Kate paired the lighter pink version of the dress with a matching hat by Jane Taylor.

The Duchess of Cambridge is known for re-wearing outfits to royal engagements, but in this case, she wore a new dress that's just very, very similar to one she's famously worn before. So why buy the same dress in a slightly different color? And why kind-of, sort-of recycle a look at a huge event like a wedding? Hello! Magazine theorizes that it's Kate's way of making sure she doesn't upstage the bride with her look.

Here's Kate's wedding look, a stunning raspberry pink dress by Alexander McQueen:

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(Image credit: Getty images)

And here she is in 2017:

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

Hello! magazine also points to Kate's fashion choice at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding in May, where they say the duchess wore a bespoke yellow coat dress by Alexander McQueen that was very similar to the cream coat she wore to her daughter, Princess Charlotte's, christening. According to Hello!, Kate actually requested the yellow version of the look from Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen, one of her personal favorite designers. 

Here's the cream coat dress Kate wore to Charlotte's christening in May 2015:

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

And here she is in a pale yellow version of the look at Harry and Meghan's royal wedding in May 2018:

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(Image credit: Getty images)

Kate's wedding look on Eugenie's big day was definitely a surprise, even if it does fit with her trend of wearing a different version of a previous look. In the past, she's gravitated toward subtler shades and blues as a wedding guest.

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Kayleigh Roberts
Weekend Editor

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.