You Can Now Buy 'The Dress' In Either Blue And Black Or White And Gold 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 How I Flipped My Brain's View of the Black and Blue Dress Jeff Greenhouse Is The Dress blue and black or white and gold? The answer lies in vision psychology Psychology The Guardian The Dress Debate: Science Explains Why Some See Blue And Black And Others White And Gold