‘The Dress’ is 10 years old — and people still can’t agree on what color it is
Everyone remembers the moment they were asked and answered this iconic question in 2015: “What color is this dress?”
Millions joined in on the viral debate about the color of this $77 lace dress, made by British retailer Roman Originals. Some saw it as blue and black while others saw it as white and gold.
So how did this craze even begin?
Cecilia Bleasdale sent a photo of the dress to her daughter, Grace. Bleasdale wanted to know if the blue and black dress was okay to wear to Grace’s wedding. However, Grace didn’t see a blue and black dress — she saw white and gold.
From there, the photo caught the eye of BuzzFeed Community Manager, Cates Holderness, sparked a conversation on Tumblr and Twitter. BuzzFeed’s poll was seen by more than 16 million people, 7.6 million tweets debated the color and Roman Originals sold out of the dress in 34 minutes! Even celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and Jimmy Fallon weighed in on the garment’s two-toned color.
TODAY.com staffers joined in on the conversation and was split back then, with most seeing the blue and black color.
So, if the dress was confirmed to be blue and black, why did some people see white and gold?
Dr. Sarah Klibanoff, a board certified optometrist told TODAY, it’s all about how your brain perceives the background lighting of the photo.
“If a person, let’s say, saw the dress in a shadow, there’s more blue light in a shadow,” she said. “I’m going to filter out that blue light and I’m actually going to see the dress much more white and gold.”
Ten years later, we want to know what you think! Vote in our poll below on what color you see.
