History Main / IdenticalTwinIDTag

** To be precise, Thompson's mustache curls in while Thomson's flares out.

* Huey, Dewey, and Louie from the DisneyDucksComicUniverse dress in a ChromaticArrangement of hats and shirts (Huey being red, Dewey being blue, and Louie being green -- usually). In the comics they wear black shirts and frequently go hatless -- and when they ''do'' wear hat's it's not a given that the colorist will follow the "official" colors, leaving it impossible at times to tell who's who.
** Their {{Distaff Counterpart}}s April, May and June, vary wildly whether they wear different colors or not -- or which colors they wear. Sometimes they follow the red/blue/green ChromaticArrangement of Huey, Dewey and Louie, sometimes they'll go for a yellow/magenta/cyan theme instead. However, in later years Dutch comics featuring the girls gives them more individual clothes and different hairstyles (yes, hair on ducks, [[MST3KMantra just go with it]]): April has a ponytail, May has short hair and generally wears a headband, and June has twin pigtails.
** In a comic storu from Don Rosa, Huey, Dewey and Louie HAVE differences... It's just that they're subtle enough that only themselves and Donald (who is revealed to be able to see details as subtle as flee prints on a donut) can tell them apart without the hats. That doesn't prevent the triplets from taking offense by anyone else's inability to tell them apart.

* In ''{{Rugrats}}'' Phil and Lil De Vil are [[HalfIdenticalTwins identical fraternal twins]]. They had slightly different outfits; Lil wore a pink bow in her hair and her overalls were actually tapered like a skirt at the bottom. They're still similar enough that switching Lil's bow can cause their dad to confuse them.

* Randy and Jason Sklar of ''CheapSeats'': Randy sported a full beard. Jason had glasses and a goatee.

* Ami and Mami Futami in ''TheIdolmaster'' . One has a side ponytail on the right (Ami) the other on the left (Mami). Becomes even more pronounced when Mami grows her hair out for the second game and anime.

* Pops up in an episode of ''Series/LawAndOrder'' as a plot point. A gangster tries to blame his twin brother for a murder, but as the witness was a nurse and only the gangster was a heavy drinker, it falls flat.

This is almost always TruthInTelevision - usually either because there's a biological distinction (like, say, a mole on one twin's cheek, that the other doesn't have. Some traits, like the natural part in their hair, may be mirror images of each other) or because they like to do something to differentiate themselves (like a different hair style - even a different hair colour, sometimes). Even more TruthInTelevision: Even identical twins can be told apart by their fingerprints.

See also/compare TwinDesynch. {{Tareme Eyes}} and {{Tsurime Eyes}} are a common way to tell twins apart. Any personal examples should go in the [[http://tropertales.wikkii.com/wiki/Main_Page Troper Tales Wiki]].

[[folder:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* For [[{{Tareme Eyes}} Zazie]] and [[{{Tsurime Eyes}} her sister]] in ''MahouSenseiNegima'', this is the only way to tell them apart. And Fuuka and Fumika have distinctive hairstyles.

* In ''FushigiYuugi'', Amiboshi wears blue and carries a flute. Suboshi wears orange and wields a KillerYoYo. Remember that now.

[[folder: ComicBooks]]

[[folder: {{Film}}]]
* ''[[Film/DeadRingers Dead Ringers]]'': Elliot and Beverly [[MeaningfulName Mantle]] are identical twins who begin the film as nearly inseparable partners in a gynecological practice. As the story progresses, Beverly and Elliot personalities diverge due to one of the twin's advancing mental instability. This is reflected in their appearance, with Elliot maintaining a healthy, well-tanned look while Beverly develops bags under his eyes, a sickly pallor, and a nervous twitch. Guess which one's losing his marbles?
* Parodied & Inverted in ''TheGreatMuppetCaper'' where Kermit (a frog) and Fozzie (a bear) [[NonIdenticalTwins play identical twins]].

* This trope is inverted in both versions of ''TheParentTrap'', with the identical twins starting out easily identifiable by hairstyle and choice of clothing. When they decide to do the swap to try to get their parents back together, they make adjustments so that they ''are'' indistinguishable.
* In ''ScottPilgrimVersusTheWorld'' [[http://mrwickedproductions.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/scott-pilgrim-vs-the-world-asian.jpg Kyle & Ken Katayanagi]], Evil Exes 5 and 6 respectively, have ''very'' different outfits and Ken has bleached his hair. Interestingly, in the movie at least, they lack individual characterizations.

[[folder: {{Literature}}]]
* In most versions of ''AliceInWonderland'', Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee have their names embroidered in their collars.

** There're also Padma and Parvati Patil. In the books, Padma is in Ravenclaw and Parvati in Gryffindor. ''GobletOfFire'' states the two could usually only be told apart by their uniforms; both are in Gryffindor in the films.
*** Though it should be noted that in the movies they are played by two non-sibling actresses and made fraternal.
* In Ngaio Marsh's ''Death of a Peer'' (UK title ''A Surfeit of Lampreys''), A pair of near-identical twins both claimed to have taken the elevator with their uncle just before he was found dead in it. Only one of them did, and Alleyn points out that the twins can't cover for each other since he can tell which twin is which.
* ''The Midnight Twins'' is a book about seer twins, one who can see into the future and one into the past. Meredith, aka Merry, is cheerful and girly. Her hair is parted on the right, she's right-handed, and she has two piercings in her right ear. Mallory, aka Mally, is a tomboyish loner with all of the aforementioned characteristics on her left side.
* In ''TheStainlessSteelRat'' books, Jim's sons James and Bolivar are distinguished only by a small scar behind James's ear, from when Bolivar bit him when they were four.
* In ''TheVorkosiganSaga'', Mark deliberately gains huge amounts of weight so that he can be easily distinguished from his clone-brother Miles.

* In ''The Truth-Teller's Tale'' by Sharon Shinn, Eleda and Adele are "mirror" twins, able to be told apart by which of their MismatchedEyes is on the right, their handedness, and the way they part their hair. However, since Eleda is a [[CannotTellALie Truth-Teller]] and Adele is a [[SecretKeeper Safe-Keeper]] and the consequences of them pulling a twin-switch on you are ''very'' serious, the townspeople have worked out a question to tell them apart: "Is it safe to tell you a secret?" Eleda will always say "no" and Adele will always say "yes."

[[folder: LiveActionTV]]
* Invoked in an episode of ''TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody.'' Cody decides to dye his hair "Honey Mist Auburn" so that people would be able to tell him from Zack. To quote the episode: "Honey, you missed auburn big-time." He ended up as a redhead, and ironically was forced to do a TwinSwitch for an interview. In Real Life, you could tell Dylan Sprouse from his brother because Cole (Cody) has a more gaunt face than Dylan.

[[folder: TabletopRPG]]
* ''DungeonsAndDragons'' module [=EX2=] ''The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror'', which was inspired by LewisCarroll's ''AliceInWonderland'' stories. T. Deeous and T. Diumm (a ShoutOut to Tweedledee and Tweedledum) look exactly alike, except for the ties that secure their jackets: one is russet-red, one is plum colored.

[[folder: VideoGames]]
* {{Jailbait}} twins Gauche and Droite from ''TalesOfVesperia.'' They look the same for the most part, but are easy to distinguish due to the color of their hair and eyes, as well as having distinct voices.
** ''TalesOfVesperia'' also has Hisca and Chastel from the OVA The First Strike. They are distinguishable by the fact that Chastel is "more developed" than her sister.

[[folder: WebComics]]
* While not technically twins, the parallel dimention Megaman and Bass from ''{{Bob And George}}'' put on some tags to diferentiate themselves from their local counterparts. Later, the future versions of the alternates appeared and put on the apropiate tags... [[UpToEleven AND THEN]] the future version of the future's alternate's appeared.

[[folder: Web Original]]

[[folder: WesternAnimation]]

* The Oracle Twins in ''AmericanDragonJakeLong'' dress exceedingly differently. In the first season, before the animation style changed, it's easy to tell that they were just dressing differently. In the second season, their entire appearances, hair color included, are altered.

* In ''{{Rugrats}}'' Phil and Lil De Vil are [[HalfIdenticalTwins identical fraternal twins]]. They had slightly different outfits; Lil wore a pink bow in her hair and her overalls were actually tapered like a skirt at the bottom. They're still similar enough that switching Lil's bow can cause their dad to confuse them.

** The Brendham Bay Twins and Scottish Twins both wear actual name tags.
*** In the case of the Scottish Twins, the names are painted on because they pulled one too many [[TwinSwitch twin switches]] in in their backstory.

** Their {{Distaff Counterpart}}s April, May and June, vary wildly whether they wear different colors or not -- or which colors they wear. Sometimes they follow the red/blue/green ChromaticArrangement of Huey, Dewey and Louie, sometimes they'll go for a yellow/magenta/cyan theme instead. However, in later years Dutch comics featuring the girls gives them more individual clothes and different hairstyles (yes, hair on ducks, [[MST3KMantra just go with it]]): April has a ponytail, May has short hair and generally wears a headband, and June has twin pigtails.

[[folder: RealLife]]

* Bill and Tom Kaulitz's... everything. From a young age, Bill cut his hair short and spiked it, Tom got dreads, then Bill got an eyebrow piercing, Tom got a lip piercing, Bill got a tongue piercing, Tom starting dressing 'gangsta', Bill started wearing make-up... I could go on, but I mean, just go google them. Kind of hard to believe they're identical.

* While not Technically twins, the parallel dimention Megaman and Bass from ''{{Bob And George}}'' put on some tags to diferentiate themselves from their local counterparts. Later, the future versions of the alternates appeared and put on the apropiate tags... [[UpToEleven AND THEN]] the future version of the future's alternate's appeared.

* ''{{Ravenloft}}'s'' wererat darklord, Jacqueline Renier, got so sick of people confusing her with her sister Louise that she went in for the body-alteration version of this trope. Not by changing herself, but by ''tearing off her sister's earlobe'' in a fight.

See also/compare TwinDesynch. {{Tareme Eyes}} and {{Tsurime Eyes}} are a common way to tell twins apart. Any personal examples should go in the [[http://tropertales.wikkii.com/wiki/Main_Page Troper Tales Wikii]].

* Dante and Vergil of the ''DevilMayCry'' series. Dante has a red longcoat in all his appearances and wears his hair loose. Vergil wears blue and keeps his hair slicked back, though occasionally it falls out of place.

* Huey, Dewey, and Louie from the DisneyDucksComicUniverse dress in a ChromaticArrangement of hats and shirts (Huey being red, Dewey being blue, and Louie being green). In the comics they wear black shirts and frequently go hatless, leaving it impossible at times to tell who's who.

See also/compare TwinDesynch. {{Tareme Eyes}} and {{Tsurime Eyes}} are a common way to tell twins apart.

See also/compare TwinDesynch. {{Tareme Eyes}} and {{Tsurime Eyes}} are a common way to tell twins apart. Please put personal examples in the [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/tales.php?trope=TroperTales.IdenticalTwinIDTag Troper Tales page.]]

* The St John twins from [[JohnRingo John Ringo's]] ''[[EmpireofMan Empire of Man]]'' series have opposite sides of their heads shaved, due to one of their old [=COs=] being unable to differentiate them.

* Pops up in an episode of ''LawAndOrder'' as a plot point. A gangster tries to blame his twin brother for a murder, but as the witness was a nurse and only the gangster was a heavy drinker, it falls flat.

* Huey, Dewey, and Louie from the ScroogeMcDuckUniverse dress in a ChromaticArrangement of hats and shirts (Huey being red, Dewey being blue, and Louie being green). In the comics they wear black shirts and frequently go hatless, leaving it impossible at times to tell who's who.