The actual dress was black and blue. The confusion came from how lighting and color perception tricked people's brains, making some see it as white and gold. It became a viral example The Blue Black or White Gold Dress and Questioning Reality Psychology Today 10 years ago, a simple photograph of a dress sparked a global debate unlike anything seen online before. Posted in 2015, the image caused people to argue intensely over whether the dress Internet debates that blue dress (it is blue, right?) The Seattle Times Here Is Proof That #TheDress is Black and Blue