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

Did the outfit that Kate Middleton (opens in new tab) wore to Princess Eugenie's royal wedding (opens in new tab) 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 (opens in new tab). At the 2017 celebration, Kate paired the lighter pink version of the dress with a matching hat by Jane Taylor (opens in new tab).

The Duchess of Cambridge is known for re-wearing outfits to royal engagements (opens in new tab), 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 (opens in new tab) 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 (opens in new tab), a stunning raspberry pink dress by Alexander McQueen (opens in new tab):

And here she is in 2017:

Hello! magazine also points to Kate's fashion choice at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding (opens in new tab) in May, where they say the duchess wore a bespoke yellow coat dress by Alexander McQueen (opens in new tab) that was very similar to the cream coat she wore to her daughter, Princess Charlotte's, christening (opens in new tab). According to Hello! (opens in new tab), 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:

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

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 (opens in new tab).