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 Colors of debate Always Overdone How "The Dress" Became an Illusion Unlike Any Other Scientific American White Gold Blue Blue And Black Yellow And White Dress Striped Dress What Color Is The Eleven years ago today, an image of a dress posted on Tumblr, a social networking platform, ignited a global online debate over whether it was white and gold or blue and black.