A blue and black dress (or was it white and gold) went viral on Friday, boosting interest in the garment, resulting in a fast sellout for British firm Roman Originals, leading Grumpy Editor to wonder if a sharp PR person was quietly involved with the startling overnight worldwide interest.
The big question that was debated in length on the Web, TV, radio and in print was the color of the dress. Roman Originals’ website showed it clearly to be blue and black. But some Web viewers saw white and gold.
It all started when Scottish singer Caitlin McNeil posted a picture of the dress on her Tumblr page and asked people if they thought it was black and blue or white and gold.
That led to a brisk debate on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and others. Even scientific experts on color perception were brought in by print and broadcast media to discuss how visual information is processed.
All the chatter brought huge attention to Roman Originals. The Birmingham, England firm started selling the blue and black dress three months ago.
Ian Johnson, the firm’s creative director, said sales averaged about 100 a week online and through stores. Then on Friday morning, after the color chatter hit the Web, 300 dresses were sold in a half hour.
For those who view the dress as white and gold, the UK retailer was busy over the weekend working on that version.
Or will that be seen as green and gray?
FYI, IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE EDITORS MISSED THESE…
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Think you are not getting paid enough?
Try baseball. Yoan Moncada, a 19-year old infielder who left Cuba in June, signed with the Boston Red Sox in a deal that included a record $31.5 million signing bonus.
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