True Summer Color Palette

The True Summer color palette

30 colours in four groups and 6 neutrals, each written out with its hex code — tap any code to copy it, or take a whole group at once. The same palette is available as a True Summer palette card (PNG) sized for a phone screen, to take shopping.

True Summer core and accent colors

The eight core colours are True Summer's everyday wardrobe: denim, cadet blue, blue grey, teal grey, eucalyptus, periwinkle, rose and soft plum. They are cool, medium in depth and softened — clear enough to have real colour, with a touch of grey that keeps them from shouting. That balance is the season: coolness is the strongest thing about the colouring, and neither lightness, depth, softness nor brightness is extreme.

Accents are raspberry, watermelon and mulberry for pink and red, soft sapphire and soft emerald for jewel colour, orchid and cool lavender, and a soft lemon. Can a True Summer wear red? Yes: a blue-based red like watermelon or raspberry. Orange-red, tomato and brick are the reds that fight it, because they are warm.

The lightest and deepest True Summer shades

The lightest shades — soft mauve, powder pink, sky, mist, mint grey, pale violet — are for shirts and summer clothes, and they are soft rather than icy. The deepest — soft navy, dusk blue, deep teal blue, spruce, plum, soft aubergine, berry and rose brown — are the True Summer darks: deep enough for tailoring and evening, softened enough not to look harsh.

True Summer neutrals

• Soft white#F2F1EE
• Rose beige#CDB8B4
• Light grey#C9C9C7
• Pewter#9A9A98
• Cool taupe#8E8583
• Navy grey#3F4A56

Six neutrals carry the wardrobe. Soft white replaces optic white; navy grey replaces black; pewter, light grey, cool taupe and rose beige fill the middle. The browns that work are cool and rosy — cool taupe and rose brown — rather than camel or chocolate.

What makes a True Summer: warm or cool, light or deep, soft or bright

True Summer is the centre of the cool-and-muted family: coolness defines it, and it sits at medium depth with a soft, slightly greyed finish. Skin reads pink or neutral, hair runs ash blonde to cool mid-brown, and eyes are typically blue, grey-green or cool hazel. Blue-based colours with the edge taken off are where it lives.

True Summer and Cool Summer are the same season. One family of the twelve-season system calls the middle subtype of each season True; the other names it by its defining quality, which here is coolness. More people search for the Cool Summer name, and this page answers to both.

The test on this page turns three measurements into numbers between minus one and plus one. Warm–cool is mainly the hue angle of your skin in CIE Lab, with your hair counting for about a third. Light–deep is skin and hair lightness together, with hair weighted slightly more. Soft–bright is the saturation of your irises and the lightness gap between hair and skin, half each.

It calls you True Summer when warm–cool reads cool, neither of the other two axes gets past 0.3, and light–deep is zero or above. In plain terms: coolness is the only strong signal and the colouring sits slightly on the light side of the middle. The True seasons are diagnosed by exclusion, and this is what that means in numbers.

The borders are close on every side. With light–deep below zero, the same reading is True Winter. If lightness passes 0.3 it becomes Light Summer; if softness does, Soft Summer; if clarity does, Bright Winter. And because warm–cool is the only decisive axis, a small shift in temperature — often from the light in the photo — can turn it into True Spring.

True Summer skin, eyes and hair

These are examples, not a checklist. True Summer runs from fair to deep skin; what makes it is a pink, rosy or neutral cast with hair and eyes at a medium depth and a medium softness — nothing extreme in any direction. Because it is decided by exclusion, True Summer is also the season people most often doubt: the colouring is unremarkable in every way except its coolness.

Am I a True Summer? A drape test you can do at home

Diagnosed by exclusion, like the other True seasons.

1. 1

   Stand facing a window in daylight, with no coloured walls behind you and no makeup. Tie your hair back or cover it with a white towel.

2. 2

   Test temperature first. Cream against soft white, then an orange-red against raspberry. On a True Summer soft white and raspberry win, and cream and orange-red make the skin look yellow.

3. 3

   Then check that neither pastel nor dark wins. Powder pink should look a little weak and navy grey a little heavy — if the pastel is clearly best, look at Light Summer.

4. 4

   Then clarity against softness: a hot pink, a rose and a dusty mauve. On a True Summer the rose wins. If hot pink wins, look at True Winter; if the dusty mauve wins, look at Soft Summer.

• Cool wins clearly — silver over gold, cool pink over peach, soft white over cream.
• Neither light nor deep dominates: pastels are slightly too weak and true darks slightly too heavy.
• Muted wins over clear: a dusty rose flatters where a hot pink shouts.

True Summer vs Soft Summer, Light Summer and True Winter

True Summer vs Soft Summer is the most searched comparison for this season. Both are cool and both look best in softened colour, so the question is how much muting you need. Soft Summer is called when softness is the strongest axis — low contrast between hair and skin, eyes with little saturation. On a Soft Summer, clean mid-tones like denim and rose look a little too sharp and greyed versions look right. On a True Summer, the greyed versions look faded and the cleaner ones look alive. Rose against a dusty mauve under the chin settles it. The Soft Summer color palette covers the more muted side.

True Summer vs Light Summer is a question of depth. Light Summer is called when lightness is the strongest axis, which usually means light hair; its best colours are powdery pastels that look slightly weak on a True Summer, and it finds True Summer's navy and plum heavy. If powder pink beats rose, read the Light Summer color palette.

True Summer vs True Winter is closer on this test than it looks in a drape. Both are called when coolness is the only strong signal, and the sign of light–deep splits them — so a result near zero can flip. In clothes the difference is clarity: True Winter wears black, optic white and saturated jewel tones, which overpower a True Summer. If hot pink and black look natural on you, read the True Winter color palette.

True Summer colors to avoid, and what to wear instead

The three colours that fight a True Summer hardest are below. Three, not thirty — a palette is a prediction about which tones lift the face, not a list of banned colours, so every one of them has a version that does the same job.

• Vivid yellow#FFD400
• Orange#FF5714
• Black#1C1C1C

True Summer outfits and clothing

Six combinations built only from the palette, shown in the proportions you would wear them — the largest block is the main garment, the smallest is the accessory.

• Denim and rose

  • Denim#6A8EAE
  • Soft white#F2F1EE
  • Rose#C97B94

  Denim trousers or a chambray shirt, a soft white layer, a rose scarf.

• Navy grey workday

  • Navy grey#3F4A56
  • Sky#B6D0E2
  • Raspberry#B8456E

  Navy grey suiting, a sky blue shirt, a raspberry accent.

• Eucalyptus weekend

  • Eucalyptus#8FA4A0
  • Pewter#9A9A98
  • Powder pink#E9C6D3

  A eucalyptus knit, pewter jeans, a powder pink tee underneath.

• Plum and pewter

  • Plum#6A3F5E
  • Pewter#9A9A98
  • Soft mauve#D6C9D9

  A plum dress, pewter jewellery, a soft mauve wrap.

• Periwinkle and taupe

  • Periwinkle#8E7CC3
  • Cool taupe#8E8583
  • Soft white#F2F1EE

  A periwinkle blouse, cool taupe trousers, soft white shoes.

• Soft navy classic

  • Soft navy#3E5170
  • Soft white#F2F1EE
  • Watermelon#D65F76

  A soft navy suit, a soft white shirt, a watermelon lip or bag.

Medium-contrast, soft-edged prints work: watercolour florals in rose and blue grey, fine stripes in soft navy and soft white, soft paisley, chambray checks. Stark black-and-white graphics and saturated tropical prints overpower the face. Denim is one of this season's easiest fabrics — mid to light blue washes are close to the palette's own denim and cadet blue, where very dark indigo reads heavier and bleached white-blue looks cold.

True Summer capsule wardrobe

• Soft navy blazer
• Navy grey trousers
• Soft white shirt
• Rose knit
• Chambray or denim shirt
• Pewter cardigan
• Mid-wash jeans
• Periwinkle or plum dress
• Cool taupe trench coat
• Soft white trainers
• Silver or white gold jewellery
• Blue grey bag

True Summer color palette for men

The palette suits understated tailoring. Soft navy, blue grey and navy grey suits replace black and very dark charcoal; a blue grey suit with a soft white shirt is a strong True Summer look. Shirts in soft white, sky and powder blue, plus chambray. Knitwear in denim, eucalyptus, pewter and soft plum. Ties and pocket squares carry raspberry, periwinkle, mulberry and soft sapphire. Leather in grey, navy or cool dark brown suede rather than black or tan. The pieces to drop are the warm ones — camel coats, tan chinos and olive jackets read yellow against True Summer skin.

True Summer makeup

Cool and softened, at medium intensity.

Shade is decided by your season; where the colour goes is decided by your eye shape.

True Summer nail colors

• Raspberry#B8456E
• Dusty rose#D4A5B5
• Periwinkle#8E7CC3
• Soft navy#3E5170
• Lavender#A9A0D8
• Mauve#A0809A
• Sheer pink#E9C6D3
• Pewter shimmer#9A9A98

These eight also answer searches for Cool Summer nail colors — it is the same season. Cream or soft satin finishes suit the palette's softness; a fine pewter or silver shimmer works, while gold shimmer and neon shades fight it. Raspberry and soft navy are the most versatile, dusty rose and sheer pink the everyday neutrals.

The best hair colors for a True Summer

Ash blonde through cool medium brown. Warm highlights are the usual error; they read as brassy against skin that has no warmth to meet them.

Ash blonde through cool mid brown is the natural range. If you colour, stay within a couple of shades of your natural depth and choose ash or violet-toned formulas; soft, cool babylights keep the season's medium contrast.

Going grey tends to suit a True Summer well, because grey is cool and keeps the family. On this test grey hair raises the lightness of the hair, so the reading usually moves toward Light Summer rather than out of the Summers.

Hair colors that fight a True Summer

Honey, copper, golden blonde and warm caramel highlights read brassy against skin with no warmth to meet them. Because True Summer's warm–cool reading is the only strong one, a warm dye can also change the result itself — hair carries about a third of the warm–cool axis. Very dark, cool black is the other miss: it adds depth and contrast the face does not have.

True Summer jewelry: gold or silver?

Silver and white gold. Rose gold works better than yellow gold if you want something warmer.

Silver, white gold and platinum are the natural metals, in a soft polish or satin finish.

Should a True Summer wear gold or silver? Silver. Rose gold is the best choice if you want a warmer-looking metal; polished yellow gold is the one to skip near the face. Stones follow the palette: sapphire, amethyst, rose quartz, aquamarine, pink tourmaline, blue topaz, moonstone and grey or white pearls.

Glasses frames work the same way: slate, blue grey, soft rose, translucent grey or silver metal rather than tortoiseshell or thick black. Colour is decided here; the frame shape is decided by your face shape.

True Summer celebrities, and why this page does not list them

True Summer celebrity lists disagree more than most, for a reason built into the season: it is defined by nothing being extreme, so small changes in lighting, colour grading or hair colour move a photo into Light Summer, Soft Summer or True Winter. The same actress appears under all three on different sites.

This page does not list names. The measurement worth having is your own, from a photo taken facing a window — which is what the test at the top of this page reads.

Can your True Summer color season change?

Your measured result can change even when your colouring has not. A tan darkens the skin and can tip light–deep below zero into True Winter, or past −0.3 into Deep Winter; paler winter skin can push the reading toward Light Summer.

Hair dye moves the result most. Warm dye moves warm–cool toward True Spring, darker dye toward True Winter, lighter ash toward Light Summer. The system is usually taught as describing natural colouring, but the colours that flatter you follow the hair you actually have.

Why selfie tests give True Summers different results

The True seasons are the most sensitive to lighting, because they are called when no axis except temperature is strong. A warm bulb or golden-hour light can move a True Summer across the warm–cool line and produce True Spring; there is nothing else in the reading to outvote it.

The test looks for the whites of your eyes and uses them as a neutral reference to correct for the colour of the light, and the result says whether that worked. For a True Summer it is worth reading the three bars on your result rather than only the label: if more than one is close to its threshold, test the neighbour it points to with the drape pairs above. The full explanation is on the color analysis page.

References

1. 1.Fink, B., Grammer, K., & Matts, P. J. (2006). Visible skin color distribution plays a role in the perception of age, attractiveness, and health in female faces. Evolution and Human Behavior, 27(6), 433–442. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2006.08.007.
2. 2.Chardon, A., Cretois, I., & Hourseau, C. (1991). Skin colour typology and suntanning pathways. International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 13(4), 191–208. PMID 19291061.