A January 13 2021 post to Reddit’s r/pics was one of several observing that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s dress appeared to be identical to the one she wore for outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump’s first impeachment on December 19 2019:

The post featured two images side by side. In the first Pelosi wasn’t wearing a mask, she held a gavel, and wore a gold brooch and orange beaded bracelet on her right hand. On the second side, Pelosi wore a mask, along with what appeared to be the same black dress with a gold necklace or collar detail. She did not wear the gold brooch or beaded bracelet.

The same image was shared to an equally popular tweet on Twitter, in which user @TravisAllen02 said Pelosi “literally has a Trump impeachment outfit.”

On January 14 2021, Town & Country described Pelosi’s attire for the January 2021 impeachment of Trump as a ” a Style Statement for the Ages,” interpreting Pelosi’s sartorial choice as intended for “reminding the public that Trump had been impeached not once, but twice,” and adding:

In December 2019, the first time she donned her impeachment suit—a sharp, collarless affair with a slim zipper in place of buttons—the buzz was all about the brooch she’d chosen to pair it with: a gold piece modeled after the Mace of the United States House of Representatives, a centuries-old symbol of American legislative power. Altogether, it came off as somber and sovereign. Presiding over the House with a gavel in her hand, she recalled a black robed judge more than an elected official.

Fashion trade publication Women’s Wear Daily reported on the dress in a paywalled article, describing the House Speaker’s ensemble as “the same outfit she wore when the House voted to impeach the president for the first time in 2019”:

Pelosi’s outfit during Trump’s second impeachment hearing differed slightly from that of the first. This time the speaker did not accessorize her suit with her golden mace brooch created by jeweler Ann Hand and instead complemented the look with a patterned face mask. Pelosi implemented a new rule on [January 12 2021] that all members of Congress must wear face masks while on the floor following several members testing positive for COVID-19 after last week’s insurrection [on January 6 2021].

As for the accuracy of the first image, it appeared in Getty Images’ archives, dated December 18 2019. A caption explained:

U.S. House Of Representatives Votes On Impeachment Of President Donald Trump

WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 18: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) presides over Resolution 755 as the House of Representatives votes on the second article of impeachment of US President Donald Trump at in the House Chamber at the US Capitol Building on December 18, 2019 in Washington, DC. The U.S. House of Representatives voted to successfully pass two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

But was it the exact same dress, or just a similar (or identical) one? A representative for Pelosi confirmed the garment was the one seen in the 2019 images.

The rumor that Pelosi had a designated “impeachment dress” was less a question of veracity and more an object of curiosity on social media. Nevertheless, a representative for Pelosi addressed the impeachment dress, affirming it was the same one worn by the House Speaker as she presided over Trump’s first impeachment in December 2019.

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