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'What Colour Is This Dress?' Debate Swamps Web

A picture of a two-tone dress has gone viral after it prompted a fierce debate over whether it was white and gold - or blue and black.

Caitlin McNeil put the picture on website Tumblr after she and her friends could not agree on the colour.

The image showed a dress a close friend’s mother was planning to wear to her daughter’s wedding.

But after being posted on Thursday, the picture went viral and sparked a fierce debate - spawning Twitter hashtag #The Dress - with a number of celebrities having their say.

Read through to the end to see the real colour of the dress

Kim Kardashian tweeted: "What color is that dress? I see white & gold. Kanye sees black & blue, who is color blind?"

Taylor Swift said: "I don't understand this odd dress debate and I feel like it's a trick somehow. I'm confused and scared. PS it's OBVIOUSLY BLUE AND BLACK."

Actress Julianne Moore said: "What’s the matter with u guys, it’s white and gold."

The cause of the difference of opinion can be explained by the way our brains process what we see.

"The phenomenon of colour constancy means your brain will adjust the colour of an object depending on its surroundings or illumination," said Ashley Wood, a lecturer and optometrist at Cardiff University.

"So if there’s a lot of blue in the environment, for example, the brain will subtract blue from the image your eye sees."

"There’s also the process of colour adaptation, where the colour you perceive is affected by what you have previously been looking at.

"This effect is easily demonstrated as an after image, if you view something that is red for 30 seconds, then look at a white background it will appear green for a short time.

"Depending on the context it’s probably one or both of these effects which are allowing people to see the image differently."

Ms McNeil, 21, from the island of Colonsay in the Hebrides, plays the guitar and sings in a band called Canach.

She played at her friend’s wedding. When she got there she found out just what colour the dress really is.

The dress comes from clothing website Roman Originals - and really is blue and black.