# What color is this dress? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 27, 2015, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742 "2015-02-27T02:07:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742/301 "2015-03-02T23:23:37Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > White/golders, what color is the original dress? > > [PHOTOS Proof that ‘The Dress’ is black and blue, not gold and white – Starcasm](http://starcasm.net/archives/308050) > > Scroll down to the other pics of the dress. > [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Dark blue and black. What he said. The original dress, in the other pictures that have different colors, is blue & black. The RGB values are completely different, and of course, they _look_ completely different. > [@Frylock](#): > > Here’s one photographer who explains the evidence for blue-and-black using her knowledge of color correction techniques: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEkYjTTQiwY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEkYjTTQiwY) But she’s _color correcting_! Otherwise known as _color changing_! That solves nothing. She’s changing the pixels and then telling us what color the new pixels are. Not to mention she’s saying it’s black when it’s still gold even after the change. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742/302 "2015-03-02T23:24:39Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > An odd question for the “blue and gold” people: do you mishear song lyrics more often than most people? No, the opposite. I hear lyrics better than most people, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742/303 "2015-03-02T23:42:27Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > But she’s _color correcting_! Otherwise known as _color changing_! That solves nothing. She’s changing the pixels and then telling us what color the new pixels are. Not to mention she’s saying it’s black when it’s still gold even after the change. But if you listen to her commentary as she does so, you can see how she’s deducing which direction to color-correct, so as to arrive accurately at the dress’s original color. The question was asked what evidence there is in the picture itself that can help determine its original color. The color correction process (and the logic behind it) shows what this evidence is. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742/304 "2015-03-02T23:51:45Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > I get internet backdraft. Really. I’m interested to know in what’s at _most_ an optical illusion [/QUOTE] The explanation of people’s amazement involves understanding that it’s not any optical illusion itself which people are amazed at. It is the fact that there is such radical disagreement about what colors are depicted in the picture. My wife saw black, I saw gold. Radically, radically different colors, and neither of us could even imagine how the other could see it. Neither of us had had such an experience before, and apparently neither have most people in the world. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742/305 "2015-03-03T00:34:27Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > I buy the explanation about our brains compensating for what it perceives was ambient lighting. I don’t, because a blue dress would not wash out under yellow light in the natural world. Since there is no blue in yellow, the dress would appear darker under yellow light, and the black part would stay black. It’s not just the ambient lighting. People are also correcting for the washed nature of the photo. In fact, my current theory is that the people who see it as blue and black out have seen a lot of washed out pictures–probably because they take a lot of photos. I know I can see it as light blue and brown or white and gold. I can see the brown as being mostly desaturated to gray. But I could not figure out how it could be black until someone mentioned the idea that the white balance was messed up. How you can automatically see it that way, I don’t get. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742/306 "2015-03-03T00:48:30Z")
Can anyone link to another example of such auto-correction in color perception in photography? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742/307 "2015-03-03T03:45:20Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > In fact, my current theory is that the people who see it as blue and black out have seen a lot of washed out pictures–probably because they take a lot of photos. Thing is, I deal with a _lot_ of photos (100K+ a year) and on the professional photographers boards I hang out on, the split seems to reflect the popular split–75% see brown or gold or bronze in the dark part, and 25% see black/grey. It’s not quite that. Plus, as I mentioned before, one of the biggest names in popular Photoshop education, Scott Kelby, got it wrong on his Facebook post about the topic. So it’s not that, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742/308 "2015-03-03T03:56:01Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Can anyone link to another example of such auto-correction in color perception in photography? That extreme? I don’t know. But white balance errors are all over the place, and most people don’t seem to notice. Look at [this photo](http://blog.blakerobinsonphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Capture0002-toocool.Edit_-650x921.jpg) for instance. I’m guessing many people are going to say the background is white and the “gray card” is gray. In actuality, the gray card is a light periwinkle, and the background is a light blue. This is a subtler example, but I can see right off the bat that the colors are whack. (And the skin tones are way too magenta. I don’t mean a little–she’s downright pink.) However, when looking at photos at people’s houses, I notice all sorts of color balance issues like this that people don’t seem to notice at all, and just “autocorrect” for the colors they are expecting to see. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742/309 "2015-03-03T14:34:42Z")
I’m just going to drop this here… [![](https://i.imgur.com/yUp1l10.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/yUp1l10.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742/310 "2015-03-03T16:07:14Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > I’m just going to drop this here… > [Wait... - Imgur](http://i.imgur.com/yUp1l10.jpg) What? Two woman wearing the exact same color dress? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742/311 "2015-03-04T18:19:14Z")
There is no way I am reading this entire thread, but what about those of us who originally saw the dress as white and gold and then a few minutes later as blue and black? There certainly doesn’t seem to be any bias on our parts or propensity to see certain colors certain ways. I saw the dress one set of colors, scrolled the image out of frame and when I scrolled the image in again it was a different set of colors. I did not change the lighting in my space or the orientation of my monitor. The above stated, the dress looks white and gold for me all the time now and doesn’t change to blue and black anymore. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2015, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742/312 "2015-03-07T07:07:57Z")
Just thought I’d add this here: I just saw someone mention this on my phone, and I wondered why everyone was showing that one where they made the blue and black easier to see. And then I realized that was the original. To make sure I hadn’t just done a swap like other people had, I came back to my computer, and here it’s still light-blue with goldish brown. The image is a lot more washed out looking, and my brain can’t compensate. But it could on my phone, due to it being darker. (Also, note, I use f.lux on my computer.) So the screen does matter, and needs to be considered in all of this. Seriously, on my phone, it looked like the one in the color-corrected version in the video above. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2015, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742/313 "2015-03-07T07:15:33Z")
I turned of f.lux and I could see it blue-black (well, grey.) Turned it back on, and I couldn’t see the bright blue.almost white or gold anymore. I now suspect the difference has to do with the warmth of our screens, of the warmth of our color processing. I also wonder if some people just see the world in warmer colors than do others. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742/314 "2015-03-08T00:33:49Z")
Two days ago I had a dense cataract removed from my right eye. Before that, the dress was a sort of greyish white with dull yellowish strips. Now it is clearly white (with a bluish cast), and gold. It’s nice to see colors again! ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742/315 "2015-03-08T00:38:57Z")
Two days ago I had a dense cataract removed from my right eye. Before that, the dress was a sort of greyish white with dull yellowish strips. Now it is clearly white (with a bluish cast), and gold. It’s nice to see colors again! ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742/316 "2015-03-08T01:16:50Z")
Great… Now I’m seeing double! ---
**Author:** ![neofishboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/neofishboy/32/444_2.png) [@neofishboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neofishboy)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742/317 "2015-03-08T01:27:51Z")
Oh my God, so am I! Four posts from **Daylate**! ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742/318 "2015-03-08T20:35:45Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > An odd question for the “blue and gold” people: do you mishear song lyrics more often than most people? > [@Macca26](#): > > I’m a “light blue and bronze dress” person. I do in fact have a lot of trouble with song lyrics. Sorry to shot down this nice theory, but I too have a lot of troubles with song lyrics, and I see the dress black and blue. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742/319 "2015-03-08T20:43:23Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > I’m assuming that the blue-and-black people are seeing the colors of the dress as being washed out by the flash of the camera (which is truly the case)?. As I already wrote in response to the same question, no. I don’t see anything washed out : it’s deep blue and black, period. At least one other poster, though, does see washed out colours. And on top of it, I’m one of the switchers. I originally saw it light blue and bronze. And later, when I was closing my tabs and saw it again, the colours had dramatically changed (and stayed this way since), making this colour issue even weirder for me. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742/320 "2015-03-08T22:42:57Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > There is no way I am reading this entire thread, but what about those of us who originally saw the dress as white and gold and then a few minutes later as blue and black? > > There certainly doesn’t seem to be any bias on our parts or propensity to see certain colors certain ways. > > I saw the dress one set of colors, scrolled the image out of frame and when I scrolled the image in again it was a different set of colors. I did not change the lighting in my space or the orientation of my monitor. > > The above stated, the dress looks white and gold for me all the time now and doesn’t change to blue and black anymore. That is exactly what happened to me. It was white and gold. I clicked off that tab to do something else, and when I clicked back over, the dress was blue and black. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-this-dress/713742.md?page=17)