The debate has been settled: the dress is in fact blue and black. Roman Originals, the store that sells the dress, confirmed this fact on its Twitter account Friday morning.
We can confirm #TheDress is blue and black! We should know! http://t.co/qAeIIHzJxk pic.twitter.com/kkxjUbmgI3
— Roman Originals (@romanoriginals) February 27, 2015
The debate was sparked Thursday night after a photo of the dress went viral on social media. The original picture was posted on Tumblr on Wednesday, by 21-year-old Caitlin McNeill. Its caption read, “guys please help me— is this dress white and gold or blue and black? Me and my friends can’t agree and we are freaking the f**k out.”
But it wasn’t until Thursday when Buzzfeed asked readers for their opinions. Immediately, the world was divided into two sides: those who said it was white and gold and those who said it was blue and black.
#TheDress was trending worldwide on Twitter, causing countless arguments and a lot of confusion. Ryerson reacted:
We’re not entirely sure what colour #TheDress really is, but we are certain it would look way better in Blue & Gold. #TRSMlove @RyersonU — Ted Rogers School (@TRSMRyersonU) February 27, 2015
#THEDRESS UPDATE: I SEE BOTH WTF WTF WTF HOLD ME IM SCARED — laurDIY ☾ (@laurDIY) February 27, 2015
Really trying to see the black and blue, but I really don’t see it! IT’S GOLD AND WHITE!! #canthisendnow #sostupid
— Jacqueline Foott (@JacFoott) February 27, 2015
I don’t know how it happened but all morning all I saw was gold and white (even when they confirmed it), but now I see blue and black… — Jemicah C. Marasigan (@JemicahColleen) February 27, 2015
#TheDress is #goldandwhite unless you stand back 5 feet, squint and hop on foot while eating cheesecake. THEN it’s #blueandblack.
— Jake Scott (@JakeScottIII) February 27, 2015
#TheDress is #goldandwhite unless you stand back 5 feet, squint and hop on foot while eating cheesecake. THEN it’s #blueandblack. — Jake Scott (@JakeScottIII) February 27, 2015
It’s gold and white. The internet is going to close in on itself.
— Josh Beneteau (@jbenny15) February 27, 2015
What colour is #thedress? Kidding! It’s dress I wore in @ChangSchool ad 4 #SocialMedia course http://t.co/o4F0D9P9CK pic.twitter.com/7CF6iv4MLP — Lina Duque (@LinaDuqueMBA) February 27, 2015
White & Gold Cyclepods installed at Ryerson University in Canada #TheDress pic.twitter.com/amTMF6sIG0
— Cyclepods Ltd (@Cyclepods) February 27, 2015
The lesson from the dress color debate that every journalist needs to know | Poynter.: http://t.co/lp9ycYghGf — RJAA (@RyeJournAlumni) February 27, 2015
A Buzzfeed quiz revealed that 74 per cent of people thought the dress was white and gold, so why is our vision playing this cruel trick on us?
The Telegraph outlined theories gathered by various professionals stating it could have something to do with age, lighting, background colour, different wavelengths corresponding to different colours or top-down processing.
But whether you’re team blue and black or team white and gold, @RUstudentlife said it best:
Well, now that #TheDress debate has been settled, we would like to notify you that our University’s colours still remain blue and gold
Samantha graduated from the Ryerson School of Journalism in 2015.