How one dress divided the world
I was enjoying a show with my nephew and niece Thursday night, when I skimmed through my phone and the first thing I saw on Facebook…
Is the dress black and blue or white and gold? What do you see? (Photo: Twitter)
I was enjoying a show with my nephew and niece Thursday night, when I skimmed through my phone and the first thing I saw on Facebook was a Buzzfeed headline: What colors are this dress?
Intrigued by the photo and call-to-action, I clicked, I observed the dress for a couple of seconds and I voted –for gold and white, of course. The other option was black and blue.
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Little did I know, that by voting, I had just entered a global debate on the color of one freakin’ dress.
As the article stated, a debate fired on Tumblr regarding the color of one dress. User Swiked posted the image and asked her followers for help: “Is this dress white and gold, or blue and black? Me and my friends cant agree and we are freaking the f*** out,” she posted.
debate over this dress (Photo: Tumblr/@Swiked)
Shortly after, not only was “Swiked and company” freaking the eff out, but so was the rest of the world.
At that moment, the Internet was going cray, cray with the colors of the dress. And suddenly, the world was divided into two groups: the blue and blacks vs. white and golds.
Everyone from color visual experts and celebrities chimed in on the phenomenon. The hashtag #TheDress became an instant trending topic on Twitter.
Have we forgotten to mention the very serious condition known as color blindness or am I the only one? STOP playing with us Internet.
Though she was scared and confused, Taylor Swift said it’s “obviously blue and black.” Demi Lovato was also team black and blue. As Mrs. Kim Kardashian West said she sees white and gold.
I remember not thinking much of it when I voted for white and gold. I also recall the feeling of not being alone, as white and gold was winning in the Buzzfeed poll.
But out of curiosity, I asked my family. Everyone in the house saw black and blue. My boyfriend saw white and gold as so did the majority of my friends on social media.
What was going on? Was this some kind of trick? The Internet, myself included, was confused.
The photo, which mades headlines in news outlets such as CNN and The New York Times, was literally tearing relationships apart and messing with people’s minds.
There was only one way to get to the bottom of this silly and odd debate –and it was tracking down the origins of the famous dress.
As it turns out, the dress comes from British clothing retailer Roman Originals, which sells it for about $80. It comes in blue/black, red/black, pink/black and yes, white. White with black.
Well played Roman Originals, well played.
However, in an interview with Mashable, Ian Johnson, Roman Original’s Creative Manager said that because of the controversy they are considering a white and gold dress.
“We are thinking about making a gold and white version,” he said. “We already do it in other colours. We could do it quickly, but it has to go through quality assurance.”
Johnson said the company sold out of the item within minutes of the chaotic cybernetic storm. He also notes that he hasn’t seen sales this big since Black Friday.
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In the end, the company confirmed that the actual color of that dress, #TheDress, is black and blue.
But regardless of the fact and until further notice, the world is still divided into two groups because of one dress.
