When It's All About The Dress: White and Gold Or Black And Blue: It's All Green In the End
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Viral photo of a dress could mean big bucks for one UK retailer.
The Internet was “broken” again last week with a photo of a woman’s dress with the question “what color is this dress?” The response was amazing. From consumers to celebrities to scientists, everyone was weighing in to provide their opinions regarding the colors of the frock. One PBS Newshour article even asserted that “That dress isn’t blue or gold because color doesn’t exist.”
Ultimately, the dress means green for Women’s clothing brand Roman Original, who sells the dress online.
According to CNN, Roman Originals’ sales were reportedly up 347 percent as a result of all the interest surrounding the dress. The debate over white and gold or black and blue could mean a lot of green for UK women’s clothing retailer Roman Originals.
The center of a hot, if slightly bizarre, debate on the Internet has been the color of this dress, which is readily available for purchase through RomanOriginals.co.uk for £50 ($77.26).
"I can officially confirm the color is royal blue with black trimming," said Michelle Bastock, Roman's fashion director, during a television interview with CNN's Nina dos Santos, a fact that Roman Originals confirmed on Twitter.
The color controversy started when a Tumblr user posted a photograph of the dress, said she and her friends couldn’t determine the color, and asked other Internet users for help. On Friday, #TheDress was the top trending topic on Twitter.
With its immense influence, the debate was quickly leveraged by other brands, who it into their social media posts campaigns. Lego posted a picture on its Facebook page with two Lego people wearing white and gold and black and blue versions of the dress. Kraft tweeted a picture of a bowl made out of the dress filled with macaroni and cheese, and Oreo tweeted a photo of a box of golden Oreos next to a traditional blue box of Oreos with the tagline “Fashionably late?”
Ultimately, the dress debate demonstrates that social media is a powerful tool for retailers who are hoping to cash in on customer sales.