Cool Winter Color Palette: Every Shade With Hex Codes

Cool Winter is the purest cool season in the system: every colour is blue-based, from icy pastel to near-black, with no warmth allowed to creep in. This is the complete Cool Winter palette from the Tone & Fit app, 38 shades with hex codes, plus the five colours to start with, the shades that work against you, and the metals that suit a cool undertone.

What defines Cool Winter

Cool Winter is defined by temperature. Where True Winter is about brightness and Deep Winter is about darkness, Cool Winter is about coolness, and it carries that coolness across the full range of value: it is the one Winter that can wear icy pastels near the face as well as deep jewel tones. The undertone is pure cool, with pink, blue or rosy skin and hair that reads ash, black or cool brown. Contrast is medium to high.

The palette is a study in blue. Royal blue, cobalt and deep cool blue anchor it; true red, crimson and cool rose supply the warmth-free reds and pinks; emerald and cool dark green cover green; deep violet and magenta-purple cover purple. The neutrals are pure white, icy white, silver greys and black. Cool Winter is often confused with its sister season Cool Summer, which shares the blue base but wears everything softened and lighter.

Still deciding? The Cool Winter identification guide lists the seven signs to check, and the winter colour palette shows how the three Winters compare. Also called True Cool Winter.

All 38 Cool Winter colours with hex codes

This is the Cool Winter palette exactly as the Tone & Fit app stores it: 10 statement colours, 12 everyday midtones, 8 neutrals and 8 accents. Every swatch carries its hex code, so you can paste it into a shopping filter, a paint app or a moodboard. The app shows a filtered selection of these on your result screen so that no single hue family crowds out the rest.

Statement colours (10)

The ten shades that carry the season. Wear them as the main colour of an outfit.

• True Red#C41E3A
• Royal Blue#003DA5
• Emerald Green#006B3F
• Deep Violet#6C0BA9
• Crimson#BF0A30
• Cobalt Blue#0047B0
• Cool Dark Green#00754A
• Magenta Purple#8B1A8B
• Cool Deep Rose#CC2244
• Deep Cool Blue#005A9E

Everyday midtones (12)

Twelve softer versions for shirts, knits and layering. These are the workhorses.

• Deep Blue#1565C0
• Deep Red#C62828
• Cool Teal Green#00897B
• Deep Purple#7B1FA2
• Deep Red Orange#D84315
• Medium Blue#1976D2
• Medium Red#D32F2F
• Teal#009688
• Medium Purple#8E24AA
• Medium Orange Red#E64A19
• Bright Blue#1E88E5
• Bright Teal#00A99D

Neutrals (8)

Eight anchors for trousers, coats and bags. They replace the black and white that are not in this palette.

• Pure White#FAFAFA
• Near Black#212121
• Graphite#616161
• Light Grey#E0E0E0
• Icy White#F5F5F5
• Black#1A1A1A
• Dark Grey#555555
• Silver Grey#D6D6D6

Accents (8)

Eight deeper or brighter shades for shoes, scarves, lipstick and small doses of drama.

• Deep Red#B71C1C
• Deep Navy#1A237E
• Deep Cool Green#1B5E20
• Deep Violet#4A148C
• Deep Orange Red#BF360C
• Deep Teal#006064
• Deep Magenta#880E4F
• Deep Olive Green#33691E

Cool Winter power shades: the five to buy first

Begin with these five. They are the clearest, most blue-based colours in the palette and the ones the app surfaces first for Cool Winter, because they harmonise with a pure cool undertone rather than competing with it.

• Royal Blue#003DA5
• True Red#C41E3A
• Emerald Green#006B3F
• Deep Violet#6C0BA9
• Cool Deep Rose#CC2244

• Royal Blue #003DA5: The heart of the palette; a blue-based blue with no green or warmth in it.
• True Red #C41E3A: Your red is cool and crisp, closer to cherry than to tomato.
• Emerald Green #006B3F: The one green that stays cool at full depth; it makes Cool Winter eyes look brighter.
• Deep Violet #6C0BA9: Purple is a Cool Winter speciality and this is the version with the most presence.
• Cool Deep Rose #CC2244: The pink that reads as elegant rather than sweet on blue-based colouring.

Four Cool Winter outfit formulas

Cool Winter, also called True Winter, is the purest cool season and the one built for saturated colour at full strength. The palette wants contrast, so these formulas set clear colours against true neutrals rather than softening anything.

Read each one as base, main colour, accent. If an outfit looks a little bold in the mirror, it is probably correct.

• The signature Pure White + Royal Blue + True Red #FAFAFA #003DA5 #C41E3A

  Pure white base, royal blue at the face, true red accent. Three colours at full clarity, which is the only way this season is properly served.

• Black and colour Black + Emerald Green + Icy White #1A1A1A #006B3F #F5F5F5

  Black trousers, emerald green knit, icy white accessories. Black is genuinely yours; the green is what stops it being a default.

• Smart and sharp Graphite + Cobalt Blue + Cool Deep Rose #616161 #0047B0 #CC2244

  Graphite suit, cobalt blue shirt, cool deep rose detail. Cool grey works here in a way it does not for any Autumn.

• Evening Near Black + Deep Violet + Silver Grey #212121 #6C0BA9 #D6D6D6

  Near black base, deep violet at the face, silver grey accent. Violet is the Cool Winter colour most people never try.

A six-piece Cool Winter capsule

Six garments, one colour each. Cool Winter is one of the few seasons where a capsule can be built on black and grey without anything looking flat.

Buy the near black coat and the pure white shirt first. They are the frame that royal blue and true red are meant to sit inside.

Cool Winter colours to avoid

Warmth is the single thing to avoid. Coral, peach, golden mustard, warm tan, olive, rust and camel all carry a yellow or orange base that turns cool skin sallow or ruddy. Earthy, muted Autumn colours are the most common mistake because they photograph as "safe" neutrals; on you they simply look dull. Cream and beige should be replaced with icy white and silver grey; brown should be replaced with charcoal, navy or black.

• Coral#FF7F50
• Golden Mustard#DAA520
• Warm Tan#CD853F
• Olive#808000
• Peach Cream#FFE4B5

Five shades that work against Cool Winter colouring

• Coral: Warm and orange-leaning; it makes cool skin look ruddy.
• Golden Mustard: The warmest yellow there is, and the least flattering colour on a Cool Winter.
• Warm Tan: Muddy against a blue undertone; it turns skin sallow.
• Olive: Warm and muted, two things this palette never is.
• Peach Cream: Warm and pale; icy white is your light neutral instead.

The four near misses

Cool Winter near misses are almost always warm colours that have been recommended as universal. Coolness is not negotiable in this palette.

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  Camel #C8AD7F

  The classic coat colour, and a golden one. Against cool clear colouring it turns the skin sallow and makes the face look tired in every photograph. Wear Graphite #616161 instead.

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  Peach #FFDAB9

  Soft warm pastels are sold as flattering to everyone. On Cool Winter they are both too warm and too weak, and they make the face look washed. Wear Light Grey #E0E0E0 instead.

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  Olive #808000

  Warm and muted, which is two strikes. It is one of the few colours that can make clear cool colouring look unwell. Wear Cool Dark Green #00754A instead.

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  Beige #F5F5DC

  Warm neutral, and Cool Winter has none. Swap it for a true grey and the same outfit suddenly looks intentional. Wear Silver Grey #D6D6D6 instead.

Metals and jewellery for Cool Winter

Cool, bright metals only. Silver, white gold and platinum echo the blue base of the palette and look clean against it. Yellow gold and rose gold both read warm and can look brassy or pink next to a pure cool undertone. Clear crystal, diamond-look stones, sapphire and black onyx all work well; anything amber, coral or tortoiseshell does not.

Best metals: Silver, white gold, platinum.

Sister seasons and neighbours

Cool Winter borders Cool Summer and True Winter. If you sit between two of them, wear the colours the palettes share and skip the extremes of each. The full winter palette puts all three Winter sub-seasons side by side, and the 12 colour seasons guide explains how the whole system fits together. Side-by-side comparisons: Cool Winter vs True Winter: the difference, Cool Winter vs Deep Winter, Cool Winter vs Cool Summer.

Frequently asked questions