The color doesn't matter the dress is ugly CNN The dress is blue. Here's why White & Gold Or Blue & Black? Debate Over Dress Color Rages On YouTube This explains how the blue black white gold dress illusion was possible. But it doesn't explain why some people saw it one way and some saw it the other, and no one seemed to see 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