The Science Behind the Black and Blue (or White and Gold) Dress 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 Blue Black White Gold Dress Explained ELI5:Why Does This Dress Appear White gold To Some People And White and gold or blue and black what colour is the dress? An eyewitness gives a definitive answer The Independent The Independent White Gold Or Blue Black? Twitter's Divided Again But Not Over A Dress