Debating the Color of the Viral Dress from 2015: Black & Blue or White & Gold? A decade ago, The Dress united and divided us. It couldn't happen now. Poynter 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 Remember when the internet went absolutely nuts on the colour of a dress? The dress was blue and black. The original viral poster, Caitlin McNeill, later said it was a black and blue dress Optical illusion: Dress colour debate goes global BBC News