What Colour is the Dress? - YouLookFab Forum

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What Colour is the Dress?

Echo

Veteran

I am sure some of you have seen this go viral and it was even mentioned on the telly this morning. This photo of a dress has been causing all sorts of commotion and has split people into two camps: white/gold and blue/black. What colours do YOU see when you look at it?

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21 replies

Latest reply was from rachylou

Diana

Veteran

When I saw this last night, it changed colors before my eyes. So confusing. I clicked on the link, saw a white-gold dress, then I scrolled down to read the comments and it turned blue.

So, being me, I stared at it a lot and came up with a theory. I think that if you only see the top half of the photo (which is the case if you're looking on a small screen, like a phone - doesn't work with your photo above though because YLF automatically resizes photos to fit your screen), it looks white, but if you see the whole photo, or just the bottom, it looks blue. I think it's something about the lighting at the top that tricks the eye into thinking it's white, but if you see it in the context of the whole photo you can see that it's blue.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

YES. Greg and I were talking about the dress this morning. It's all over twitter. I saw blue and black - and still do.

doubleh

Veteran

I saw this last night and woke up with a headache this morning. I entirely blame this dress. I see white and gold and can't see it any other way. DH saw exact pic as I did at same time and saw black & blue. This morning if I scroll quickly I see B&B out of the corner of my eye, but when I focus...oy. Rods & cones, baby. That is my official scientific theory.

Ornella

(website)

Veteran

??

Team Blue and Black.

tolkitty

Blue and black.

I confess I'm utterly mystified that it could be seen so completely different by another set of eyes!!

Laurinda

Veteran

I can see it both ways, it is a good optical illusion.

What color is this dress? The fundamental truths that it — and philosophy — can teach us

Everyone sees things differently

The Dress isn’t white and gold, or blue and black. It is, at best, an object in space that reflects certain wavelengths of light, which are then interpreted by
human eyes and brains as conforming with certain ideas of colour. Even that isn’t for sure.

It’s because colour is a kind of qualia – the philosophical term for the individual bits of subjective experience that each of us have. They’re impossible to pass on – you might be able to let someone try your glass of wine, but they’ll never experience the taste you do; you can tell someone you have a headache but they’ll never really feel your pain...
_______________________________
ETA: More from Wired: The Science of Why No One Agrees on the Color of This Dress

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catgirl

Veteran

This picture is clearly blue/black to me, but in this link I can see it shift from white/gold to blue/black as I scroll down and stare at it.

http://www.usmagazine.com/cele.....nd-black-2

milehighstyle (Linda)

Veteran

It depends on the link I look at. When I first saw it on my coworker's phone it looked gold and white. When I looked at an article on msn.com, it first looked gold and white, then shifted to blue and black as I scrolled down (like Diana and Una said). This photo you posted looks clearly blue and black. Apparently the actual stock photo of the dress shows it as blue and black, but the lighting used in the photo that has been circulating is causing some weird optical illusion.

Summer

Veteran

Definitely blue and black here, but earlier I saw gold and white. I don't know what that says about my eyesight!

Astrid

Veteran

I don't see any gold and white at all. That you clearly can leaves me scratching my head...

Ruth M

Black and blue initially. Then I can see a gold-ish tinge in the black stripes. But can't see white at all. So fascinating!

Echo

Veteran

When I first saw this last night, I saw it as white and gold. My children saw blue and black (DH is on a business trip so I couldn't show him). But about an hour later, I saw the same image as blue and black. When the Today show showed it this morning, I again saw white and gold, and then it turned black and blue. Now it has stayed blue and black and I cannot see it as white and gold at all. SO confusing.

MsMary

Veteran

I saw white and gold and thought the Blue and Blackers were crazy. Then I read this article explaining that it's black and blue in real life, and now I can only see the blue and black. Crazy...

Aida

Veteran

I only see blue/black, very possibly blue/gold. Can't make it turn white!

Echo

Veteran

Laurinda, in retrospect, I think the first dress in the images you posted was what I saw initially. And even DH sees that one as white and gold, as does my middle son. DH went so far as to see the middle image as white and gold, too, when it was presented with the first one, though I see that one as blue and black. So I definitely think there have been different images going around, some more washed out than others. I can make myself see the first image either way now.

Isabel

Veteran

It is so weird....I can see both. I really liked this explanation :

http://news.discovery.com/huma.....150226.htm

Anonymous

I definitely see blue and black and can't comprehend how it can be perceived any other way...?

columbine(erin)

Veteran

When I read the article I saw white (well, with a blue cast as I thought from the lighting) and gold at first, then scrolled up and royal blue and black for a moment and then back to white and gold.

Sara L.

Veteran

I see white/gold. DH sees blue/black. My older son also see white/gold, but my middle son sees blue/black. He thought I was kidding with him when I told him I see white/gold.

K.M.

Veteran

I only see white and gold and try as I might, can't see blue and black--even though I read several articles explaining and saw a photo of the original dress in its blue-black incarnation.

But seriously, and no offense if your taste is different, what I really see... is a very unattractive dress!

rachylou

Veteran

Every picture I've seen - blue and black straight up. Maybe there's another pic out there...?

ETA: an interesting link Isabel!