The whole world now buying the blue/black, white/gold dress...meet the women behind it!

Guess what, half the world now wants THIS dress - which is actually blue and black.

According to TMZ, "The company behind #TheDress has put the debate to bed -- it's blue and black -- and the hubbub has done wonders for its business ... thanks to the hashtag hysteria.  

#TheDress phenomenon began after a woman posted a photo of her mother's dress for her wedding ... asking people to ID the color. From there...explosion  with the likes of Justin Bieber (blue and black), Kim K (white and gold), and Taylor Swift (blue and black) all weighing in. 

A rep for the company that makes the dress, Roman Originals, tells TMZ the dress is blue and black, but it also comes in pink and black, white and black and red and black. There isn't a white and gold option yet ... but Roman is looking to add it to the line because of all the commotion.

As for business, Roman Originals says sales are up 347%. 

Meanwhile, the original photograph of the dress was taken by Cecilia Bleasdale, who bought it for her daughter Grace's upcoming wedding.

Cecillia

She sent the image to the bride-to-be, who shared it with her groom. The couple was the first to disagree over the dress's colours.

 

Disagreement erupted when the bride-to-be posted the picture on Facebook, over the colour of the outfit: some said it was white and gold, while others insisted it was blue and black.

The debate reappeared online when Caitlin McNeill, a close friend of Grace and her new husband,Keir Johnston, posted the picture on Tumblr days after the wedding.

Ms McNeill, whose band played at the Scottish ceremony, shared the photograph on a fan page dedicated to talent manager Sarah Weichel, who represents YouTube stars.

That page gave it the exposure that sent the dress into the online stratosphere.

"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,' 21-year-old Caitin McNeil said referring to the celebrities that have joined in the conversation.