‪#‎thedress‬ debate is over: Inside the wedding which sparked an internet sensation: Mother-of-the bride poses in THAT optical illusion dress as she celebrates her daughter's marriage

What colour is this dress? That is the question that has sparked a fierce internet debate, with social media users, among them Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, arguing over its true hue.

Now a new photo has emerged that looks set to end the row once and for all, and reveals that those who claimed it was blue and black are correct.

In the picture, the dress is being worn by Celica Bleasdale, the mother of the bride, and is clearly blue and black rather than cream and gold.

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Real colour revealed: This photo shows that the dress - and the matching jacket - are clearly black and blue 

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The original post: This photo posted by Caitlin McNeil sparked the big dress debate

She wore the outfit as her daughter Grace celebrated her marriage to her now husband Keir Johnston.  

The great dress debate was sparked by a photo posted on Tumblr by Caitlin McNeill, a 21-year-old singer from Scotland, who had noticed her friends couldn't agree on the colour of the frock.

It promptly went viral, with posts arguing over the dress's original colours - and science behind the debate - viewed and shared millions of times.

Even celebrities weighed in, with Kim Kardashian asking her 29.4million Twitter followers to help settle a disagreement between herself and husband Kanye West.

Unfortunately for Kim, Kanye has been proved correct by the new photo, while she has been left to eat humble pie.

The astonishing spread of the dress debate has left Miss McNeill shocked, with the 21-year-old telling Business Insider that she never expected the photograph to go viral.

'I thought my followers on Tumblr would maybe have a good reaction but I never would have considered that Taylor Swift and Mindy Kaling would be tweeting about it.' 

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First post: The photo was initially shared by Caitlin McNeill, 21, above, an aspiring singer from Scotland

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Creating a buzz: Kim Kardashian called on her 29.4million Twitter followers to help settle a disagreement

'Confused and scared': Taylor Swift told her Twitter followers that the dress is 'obviously blue and black'

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Star power: Celebrities including Mindy Kaling, B.J. Novak and Oscar-winner Julianne Moore join the debate

Miss McNeill also went on to reveal why she posted the snap in the first place and said that the original shot came from Mrs Bleasdale herself who bought the dress in high-street retailer Roman Originals.

'What happened was two of my close friends were actually getting married and the mother of the bride took a photo of the dress to send to her daughter,' she said.

'When my friend showed the dress to her fiancee, they disagreed on the colour. All of our friends disagreed.'

With the debate fresh in her mind, Miss McNeill shared the photo on a Tumblr fan page dedicated to a talent manager Sarah Weichel.

Then, without Weichel promoting the post or realising it was there, it went viral, with scores of celebrities getting involved in the argument.

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

Actress Mindy Kaling also joined the discussion, writing on Twitter: 'IT'S A BLUE AND BLACK DRESS! ARE YOU F***ING KIDDING ME'. 

Black and blue? Eyeteq enhances images for the colour blind

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Even more colors: The dress can also be purchased in white and black or a pink and black combination

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True colors: The dress, made by the company Roman Originals, is in fact blue and black striped

Her friend and fellow actor BJ Novak replied with a succinct post that simply read: 'white and gold.' 

Then recent Oscar winner Julianne Moore jumped in, writing to Novak and Kaling to complain: 'What's the matter with u guys, it's white and gold.'

To that, Novak replied to Moore; 'Thank you! And congratulations on your Oscar, which Mindy thinks is purple and green.'  

Taylor Swift wrote; '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.'   

And Justin Bieber kept his fans happy by telling them, correctly as it turns out, that he sees 'blue and black'.

Some celebrities avoided the issue completely and contented themselves by simply declaring the dress ugly.

Has Adobe solved the fierce debate on the two-tone dress?

Model Chrissy Teigen told her 655,000 Twitter followers: 'F*** the dress it's heinous', while Oscar-winner Jared Leto branded it 'fugly'. 

With the release of the new photo, the bodycon dress, which is made by British company Roman Originals, has been definitively identified as being black and blue.

There company also makes also white, pink and red options, all with black lace. There are, however, no white and gold versions to be had. 

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On display: The dress is displayed in the window of the Roman Originals store, it also comes in different colours

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Trying it on: A woman tried on the dress in the store today showing it to be blue and black 

WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON? THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE DRESS

There's science behind the reason why some people see black on blue while others are just as certain that they see gold on white.

The simple answer is that the picture is an optical illusion.

Objects reflect light at certain wavelengths, or colors, and the human brain determines the color of an object by taking in its reflected light. But this perception can be thrown off balance by the color of nearby objects.

With the photo of the dress, the surrounding colors are so muddled that the brain isn't sure what to make of the dress itself.

As Wired.com points out, a digital analysis of the dress photo shows that one of the spots of black trim is actually orange in the photo.

Thus, people who perceive the surrounding area as dark are likely to see the blue in the dress as white and the black colors as gold. It all just depends on the manner that the brain perceives and processes color.

Jay Neitz, a University of of Washington neuroscience tells Wired: 'I’ve studied individual differences in color vision for 30 years, and this is one of the biggest individual differences I’ve ever seen.' He sees gold on white. 

Read more:

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• Lace Detail Bodycon Dress - at Roman Originals
• christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) on Twitter
• Roman Women's Lace Detail Bodycon Dress Royal Blue: Amazon.co.uk: Clothing
• Adobe (@Adobe) on Twitter
• The Science of Why No One Agrees on the Color of This Dress | WIRED
• Kim Kardashian West on Twitter: "What color is that dress? I see white & gold. Kanye sees black & blue, who is color blind?"
• Origin of white gold or black blue dress - Business Insider
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• Roman - Ladies Fashion, Women's Clothing, Evening Wear & Occasional Wear - Buy Online