A woman’s unexpected find at a yard sale has reignited one of the internet’s most memorable debates over an optical illusion dress that broke the internet and went viral in 2015.
In a video shared to TikTok, Amanda Rubinstein showed off her surprise find at discovering ‘the dress’ that puzzled millions worldwide nearly a decade ago.
It was back in 2015 when a simple photo of the dress became one of the biggest Internet sensations of all time.
The seemingly humdrum snap had an incredible visual quirk – some saw the dress as black and blue while others saw it as white and gold.
The picture went viral after a woman named Cecilia Bleasdale posted a picture ahead of her daughter Grace’s wedding.
The image instantly split viewers into two camps with the debate becoming so intense that scientists even studied why people perceived the colors differently, concluding that lighting and individual perception played a major role.
The phenomenon became the subject of ongoing scientific investigations in neuroscience and vision science, with a number of papers published in peer-reviewed science journals.
This time, Rubinstein’s TikTok video, featuring her humorous take as she declared, ‘I knew it was blue,’ has already had more than 3 million views and countless comments.
Some viewers have revived the old joke by insisting they still see white and gold.
One viewer wrote, ‘Such a nice white and gold dress,’ while another remarked, ‘For the first time, I don’t see white and gold!’
In a follow-up to her viral post, Rubinstein decided to settle the color debate definitively by showing viewers that the dress was indeed black and blue, confirming what the original manufacturer, Roman Originals, clarified years ago.
Rubinstein said the dress was one of the first things she noticed at the sale, and her enthusiastic reaction gave nearby shoppers a good laugh.’
The dress was one of the first items I saw when I walked up to the yard sale. I immediately screamed, ‘Oh my goodness, you have THE DRESS!’ The owners and other neighbors had a nice laugh at my expressive reaction upon seeing it,’ she told Newsweek.
‘I wasn’t sure if it would fit, but I knew an opportunity to own one of the most iconic dresses of the internet age doesn’t come around often,’ she said.
The seller had it in her closet since 2015 but rarely wore it.
‘She knew it was a gem but it had been sitting there for nine years, so she felt it deserved better,’ Rubinstein said.
‘I can confirm it’s from the same designer and collection, which leads me to believe it is genuine,’ she added.
