Soft Summer Color Palette: Every Shade With Hex Codes
Soft Summer is the most muted season in the system: cool but gently so, medium in depth, and at its best in colours that look as if they were mixed with a generous amount of grey. This is the complete Soft Summer palette from the Tone & Fit app, 38 shades with hex codes, plus the five to buy first, the colours that fight you, and the metals that suit a soft cool undertone.
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Not sure Soft Summer is your season?
One selfie tells you which of the twelve seasons you are. Free, no sign-up. You can also try the browser tool without installing anything.
Find your season free ↗What defines Soft Summer
Soft Summer is defined by chroma: it is muted before it is anything else, and clear, saturated colours overwhelm it while greyed, dusty versions of the same hues look natural. The undertone is cool, but only mildly, which puts Soft Summer on the border with Soft Autumn, its warm sister; the two share their softness and differ by a drop of blue against a drop of gold. Depth is medium, with hair, skin and eyes that blend into each other rather than contrasting.
The palette is fog over water: muted blue-grey, soft purple, dusty rose, cool sage, slate blue, periwinkle and rose-grey, with a band of softer midtones behind them and neutrals built from mist grey, taupe grey, ash and pewter. Compared with Cool Summer it is greyer and quieter; compared with Soft Autumn it is cooler and pinker. Soft Summer neutrals are unusually wearable as main colours because they are so close to the season's own colouring.
Still deciding? The Soft Summer identification guide lists the seven signs to check, and the summer colour palette shows how the three Summers compare. Also called Soft Cool.
All 38 Soft Summer colours with hex codes
This is the Soft Summer 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.
- Muted Blue Gray#7A8E99
- Muted Soft Purple#9E8BAA
- Muted Cool Sage#6B8F7A
- Muted Dusty Rose#A4848E
- Muted Steel Blue#6D899E
- Muted Periwinkle#8A8AA8
- Muted Cool Green#749080
- Muted Pink Mauve#B09090
- Muted Slate Blue#7888A0
- Muted Rose Gray#A89898
Everyday midtones (12)
Twelve softer versions for shirts, knits and layering. These are the workhorses.
- Soft Blue Gray#9AABB7
- Soft Lilac#B5A3C1
- Soft Cool Sage#8AAF9A
- Soft Dusty Rose#C2A5AD
- Soft Periwinkle#8FA1B2
- Soft Lavender#BDA8C9
- Soft Cool Green#92B7A2
- Soft Mauve#CCA8B5
- Soft Blue#97A9BA
- Soft Purple#C5B0D1
- Soft Mint Sage#9ABFAA
- Soft Pink#D4B0BD
Neutrals (8)
Eight anchors for trousers, coats and bags. They replace the black and white that are not in this palette.
- Mist Grey#D0CBC8
- Taupe Grey#B8B2AF
- Ash#A6A09D
- Fog#C4BFBC
- Pearl Grey#D6D1CE
- Mushroom Grey#BEB8B5
- Pewter Taupe#ACA6A3
- Soft Stone#CAC5C2
Accents (8)
Eight deeper or brighter shades for shoes, scarves, lipstick and small doses of drama.
- Deep Cool Blue#5C7A8A
- Deep Soft Purple#8A7399
- Deep Cool Sage#5A876F
- Deep Dusty Rose#996D7C
- Deep Periwinkle#607D93
- Deep Violet#9278A1
- Deep Teal Green#628F77
- Deep Mauve#A17584
Soft Summer power shades: the five to buy first
Start with these five. They are the softened cool colours the app surfaces first for Soft Summer, because they sit at exactly your depth and chroma and let your features come forward.
- Muted Blue-Grey#7A8E99
- Muted Soft Purple#9E8BAA
- Muted Dusty Rose#A4848E
- Muted Cool Sage#6B8F7A
- Muted Slate Blue#7888A0
- Muted Blue-Grey #7A8E99: The Soft Summer colour: cool, greyed and exactly as quiet as your own colouring.
- Muted Soft Purple #9E8BAA: Purple with the volume turned down; it looks sophisticated rather than sweet on you.
- Muted Dusty Rose #A4848E: Your pink: rose mixed with grey, and the shade that makes soft skin look freshest.
- Muted Cool Sage #6B8F7A: The green that stays cool and soft at once; warmer or clearer greens look wrong immediately.
- Muted Slate Blue #7888A0: Your dark, and still soft enough not to draw a hard line at the face.
Four Soft Summer outfit formulas
Soft Summer is defined by mutedness more than by temperature: every colour in the palette has grey folded into it. That makes it the easiest season to dress tonally and the hardest to dress brightly, so these four formulas lean into the first.
Read each one as base, main colour, accent. If an outfit looks slightly understated in the mirror, it is probably right.
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The signature Mist Grey + Muted Blue Gray + Muted Dusty Rose #D0CBC8 #7A8E99 #A4848E
Mist grey base, muted blue-grey at the face, dusty rose accent. The colours are quiet, and on Soft Summer that is exactly what makes the face the brightest thing in the frame.
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Tonal grey-green Fog + Muted Cool Sage + Muted Soft Purple #C4BFBC #6B8F7A #9E8BAA
Fog trousers, muted cool sage knit, soft purple accessories. Three muted colours that still read as three colours.
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Smart and muted Pearl Grey + Deep Cool Blue + Soft Dusty Rose #D6D1CE #5C7A8A #C2A5AD
Pearl grey shirt, deep cool blue jacket, soft dusty rose detail. The deep blue is as dark as this palette goes, and it does the navy job properly.
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Weekend soft Taupe Grey + Soft Cool Sage + Soft Mauve #B8B2AF #8AAF9A #CCA8B5
Taupe grey base, soft cool sage top, soft mauve accents. Nothing in this outfit competes, which is the point.
A six-piece Soft Summer capsule
Six garments, one colour each. Everything in a Soft Summer capsule is muted, and that is what makes the pieces interchangeable: nothing in the wardrobe is competing for attention.
Buy the ash coat and the mist grey shirt first. They are the two pieces that make the rest of the palette look intentional rather than faded.
| Garment | Colour | Why this one |
|---|---|---|
| Coat | Ash #A6A09D | Ash grey. Muted, cool and exactly the depth this colouring can carry. |
| Jeans or trousers | Taupe Grey #B8B2AF | Taupe grey, or denim in a soft mid wash with no black in it. |
| White shirt | Mist Grey #D0CBC8 | Mist grey stands in for white. A true white is the hardest edge you can put next to soft colouring. |
| Knitwear | Muted Blue Gray #7A8E99 | Muted blue-grey, the colour Soft Summer looks most at home in. |
| Occasion piece | Deep Dusty Rose #996D7C | Deep dusty rose, which gives the outfit depth without giving it brightness. |
| Shoes and bag | Deep Soft Purple #8A7399 | Deep soft purple, or a pewter grey. Warm browns turn this palette muddy. |
Soft Summer colours to avoid
Two things fight Soft Summer colouring: saturation and warmth. Neon orange, electric blue and true fuchsia are so loud that your features recede behind them. Golden mustard, rust and camel carry a yellow base that turns cool skin sallow. Stark white and jet black are the most common wardrobe defaults and both are too harsh for you: pearl grey, mist, slate blue and pewter taupe do the same jobs and look like they belong. If a colour has never been softened, it is not yours.
- Neon Orange#FF4500
- Electric Blue#0000FF
- Stark White#FFFFFF
- Jet Black#000000
- Golden Mustard#DAA520
Five shades that work against Soft Summer colouring
- Neon Orange: Warm and loud, the two things this palette never is.
- Electric Blue: Cool but far too saturated; it makes muted features disappear.
- Stark White: Too crisp; pearl grey and mist are your whites.
- Jet Black: Too harsh; slate blue and pewter taupe keep the look soft.
- Golden Mustard: Warm and strong; it turns cool skin sallow.
The four near misses
Soft Summer near misses are nearly always colours with too much life in them. Saturation is the thing to watch, not hue.
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Black #000000
It looks like the natural partner for a muted palette. It is not: black is fully saturated in the value sense, and against soft colouring it creates a contrast the face cannot answer. Wear Ash #A6A09D instead.
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True Teal #008080
Clear teal is close enough to the palette's muted teals to seem safe. That clarity is what makes it wrong; it makes your own colouring look tired next to it. Wear Deep Teal Green #628F77 instead.
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Peach #FFDAB9
Warm and soft, and the softness is the trap. Soft Summer softness is cool; a warm pastel turns the skin sallow. Wear Soft Dusty Rose #C2A5AD instead.
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True Red #C41E3A
Every wardrobe is told it needs one. This one is bright and clear, and on Soft Summer it wears you rather than the other way round. Wear Deep Dusty Rose #996D7C instead.
Metals and jewellery for Soft Summer
Softened cool metals. Brushed silver, pewter and a soft rose gold echo the muted finish of the palette; mirror-polished silver can look too sharp against it. Yellow gold reads warm and brassy. Moonstone, grey pearls, labradorite and pale amethyst suit the palette better than anything bright or faceted.
Best metals: Brushed silver, pewter, soft rose gold.
Sister seasons and neighbours
| Soft Summer | Soft Autumn | Cool Summer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Undertone | Cool, slightly neutral | Warm, slightly neutral | Cool, strongly blue-based |
| Depth | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Chroma | Low, heavily muted | Low, muted | Medium, soft |
| Contrast | Low | Low | Low to medium |
| Best neutral | Mist Grey #D0CBC8 | Oat Cream #D9D0C1 | Cool Stone #D5D0CC |
| Signature colour | Muted Blue Gray #7A8E99 | Terracotta #C4714A | Muted Steel Blue #4E7C9B |
Soft Summer borders Soft Autumn and Cool Summer. If you sit between two of them, wear the colours the palettes share and skip the extremes of each. The full summer palette puts all three Summer sub-seasons side by side, and the 12 colour seasons guide explains how the whole system fits together.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Soft Summer and Soft Autumn?
Both are muted and medium in depth. The difference is temperature: Soft Summer is cool, Soft Autumn is warm. If muted blue-grey and dusty rose look better on you than olive and terracotta, and silver beats gold near your face, you are Soft Summer.
Can a Soft Summer wear bright colours?
In small doses, away from the face. A muted colour is always your best version. The deep accents in the palette above are the strongest colours the app recommends for Soft Summer, and they are still softened.
What are the best neutrals for Soft Summer?
Mist grey, taupe grey, ash, fog, pearl grey and pewter taupe. Soft Summer can build most of a wardrobe from its neutrals because they are cool, mid-toned and blended, exactly like your own colouring.
How many colours are in the Soft Summer palette?
The Tone & Fit palette has 38 Soft Summer colours: ten statement shades, twelve everyday midtones, eight neutrals and eight accents, all listed above with hex codes.
How do I confirm I am a Soft Summer?
Look for low contrast and a cool cast. If your hair, skin and eyes sit close together in depth and a muted blue-grey looks better on you than a clear blue, you are likely Soft Summer. Our free colour analysis tool estimates your season from a selfie, and the Soft Summer identification guide walks through the seven signs.
Can I check my colour season from a photo?
Yes. The free Tone & Fit web tool reads your colour season from one selfie in about 30 seconds, with no sign-up and no photo stored by us. It also tells you whether you land in Soft Summer or a neighbouring season. The Tone & Fit app for iPhone and Android then builds your full palette of 38 named shades.