True Winter Color Palette: Every Shade With Hex Codes
True Winter, also called Bright or Clear Winter, is the archetypal Winter: cool undertone, high contrast and colours at full saturation with nothing dusty or softened about them. This is the complete True Winter palette from the Tone & Fit app, 38 shades with hex codes, plus the five to start with, the colours that flatten you, and the metals that finish the look.
On this page
Not sure True Winter 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 True Winter
True Winter is defined by clarity. Every colour in the palette is vivid and clean, and the season's own colouring matches it: clear skin, bright eyes and a strong contrast between hair and skin. The undertone is cool but not as blue-heavy as Cool Winter, which is why True Winter sits on the border with Bright Spring and can wear a clear warm-leaning coral-red that a Cool Winter cannot. Depth is medium to dark.
That produces a palette of pure primaries and jewel tones: true red, royal blue, emerald, magenta, hot pink and violet, backed by the crispest neutrals in the seasonal system, optic white to ink. What separates it from Deep Winter is brightness rather than darkness; what separates it from Cool Winter is chroma rather than temperature. If the brightest, clearest version of a colour consistently looks best on you, you are here.
Still deciding? The True Winter identification guide lists the seven signs to check, and the winter colour palette shows how the three Winters compare. Also called Bright Winter, Clear Winter.
All 38 True Winter colours with hex codes
This is the True 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.
- Vivid Warm Pink Red#E5004F
- Vivid Royal Blue#0057B8
- Vivid Cool Green#009B3A
- Vivid Magenta Purple#8B008B
- Vivid Hot Pink#FF0080
- Vivid True Red#CC0000
- Vivid Bright Blue#0080FF
- Vivid Emerald#00CC66
- Vivid Violet#9900CC
- Vivid Orange Red#FF6600
Everyday midtones (12)
Twelve softer versions for shirts, knits and layering. These are the workhorses.
- Bright Blue Mid#2196F3
- Bright Pink Mid#E91E63
- Bright Teal Mid#00BFA5
- Bright Purple Mid#9C27B0
- Bright Orange Red Mid#FF5722
- Vivid Blue Mid#1E88E5
- Vivid Cerise Mid#D81B60
- Vivid Cyan Mid#00C9AF
- Vivid Violet Mid#AB47BC
- Vivid Coral Mid#FF6D33
- Light Vivid Blue#42A5F5
- Vivid Mint#26D9B9
Neutrals (8)
Eight anchors for trousers, coats and bags. They replace the black and white that are not in this palette.
- Optic White#F5F5F5
- Charcoal#2D2D2D
- Slate Grey#5A5A5A
- Light Grey#E0E0E0
- Pure White#FAFAFA
- Ink#333333
- Mid Grey#666666
- Frost Grey#EBEBEB
Accents (8)
Eight deeper or brighter shades for shoes, scarves, lipstick and small doses of drama.
- Vivid Red#D50000
- Vivid Indigo Blue#304FFE
- Vivid Green#00C853
- Vivid Purple#AA00FF
- Vivid Orange#FF6D00
- Vivid Sky Blue#00B0FF
- Vivid Pink#C51162
- Vivid Lime#64DD17
True Winter power shades: the five to buy first
Start with these five. They are the highest-chroma colours in the palette and the ones the app surfaces first for True Winter because they meet your natural contrast rather than fighting it.
- Vivid True Red#CC0000
- Vivid Royal Blue#0057B8
- Vivid Cool Green#009B3A
- Vivid Magenta-Purple#8B008B
- Vivid Hot Pink#FF0080
- Vivid True Red #CC0000: The colour the whole season is built around: pure, clear and neither orange nor blue.
- Vivid Royal Blue #0057B8: Your blue at full strength. Anything softer looks faded next to your contrast.
- Vivid Cool Green #009B3A: An emerald-leaning green that most people cannot wear and you can.
- Vivid Magenta-Purple #8B008B: The cool purple that makes True Winter eyes and hair look sharper.
- Vivid Hot Pink #FF0080: Loud on paper, effortless on you; high chroma is your comfort zone.
Four True Winter outfit formulas
True Winter in the Tone & Fit app is the brightest Winter, sometimes called Bright Winter: cool with very high clarity and the highest contrast in the system. It is the one season that can wear a fully saturated colour next to pure white and look better for it.
Read each one as base, main colour, accent. Brightness is the point; muting anything here loses the season.
-
The signature Optic White + Vivid Royal Blue + Vivid Warm Pink Red #F5F5F5 #0057B8 #E5004F
Optic white base, vivid royal blue at the face, warm pink-red accent. Maximum clarity, which is what this colouring was built to carry.
-
Black and bright Charcoal + Vivid Emerald + Pure White #2D2D2D #00CC66 #FAFAFA
Charcoal trousers, vivid emerald knit, pure white accessories. Charcoal reads softer than black without losing the contrast.
-
Smart and vivid Slate Grey + Vivid Indigo Blue + Vivid Pink #5A5A5A #304FFE #C51162
Slate grey suit, vivid indigo-blue shirt, vivid pink detail. Grey is a real neutral here, not a compromise.
-
Evening Ink + Vivid Magenta Purple + Frost Grey #333333 #8B008B #EBEBEB
Ink base, vivid magenta-purple at the face, frost grey accent. The purple is the colour that separates Bright Winter from every other season.
A six-piece True Winter capsule
Six garments, one colour each. The brightest Winter needs its neutrals to be genuinely neutral, so charcoal and slate do the structural work and the colour arrives at full strength.
Buy the charcoal coat and the optic white shirt first. Everything vivid in the palette above is designed to go against them.
| Garment | Colour | Why this one |
|---|---|---|
| Coat | Charcoal #2D2D2D | Charcoal, which keeps the contrast high while reading slightly softer than pure black. |
| Jeans or trousers | Slate Grey #5A5A5A | Slate grey trousers, or a bright clean indigo denim. |
| White shirt | Optic White #F5F5F5 | Optic white. On this colouring it is the correct answer, not the harsh one. |
| Knitwear | Vivid Royal Blue #0057B8 | Vivid royal blue near the face, at full strength. |
| Occasion piece | Vivid Warm Pink Red #E5004F | A warm pink-red that is still cool-based, and the most photographed colour in this palette. |
| Shoes and bag | Vivid Pink #C51162 | Vivid pink as the accent, or black leather with silver hardware. |
True Winter colours to avoid
Muted and warm are the two things True Winter cannot carry. Tan, warm beige, olive khaki and camel all bring a golden, softened quality that makes clear cool skin look sallow and tired. Dusty pastels and greyed shades such as dusty mauve, sage and mushroom simply vanish on you, taking the face with them. Warm, earthy darks like chocolate and rust are also out. If a colour looks as though it has been mixed with grey or with amber, it is not yours.
- Tan#D2B48C
- Dusty Salmon#E9967A
- Olive Khaki#BDB76B
- Warm Beige#C0A080
- Dusty Mauve#B0A8B9
Five shades that work against True Winter colouring
- Tan: Warm and muted, it makes clear, cool colouring look dull.
- Dusty Salmon: Warm and softened, two strikes against a bright cool season.
- Olive Khaki: The Autumn neutral that turns True Winter skin sallow.
- Warm Beige: Muddy and low-contrast against your clarity.
- Dusty Mauve: Too muted; it disappears on you and drags the face down with it.
The four near misses
For True Winter the near misses are rarely about hue. They are colours that have had their brightness taken away.
-
Rust #B7410E
Warm and deep, and completely out of range. It is the single fastest way to make bright cool colouring look dull. Wear Vivid Orange Red #FF6600 instead.
-
Sage Grey #B2BEB5
Muted greens read as tasteful and expensive. Against this colouring they read as nothing at all; the face has more clarity than the clothes. Wear Vivid Green #00C853 instead.
-
Wheat #F5DEB3
A warm light neutral, which is the opposite of what this palette needs on both counts. Wear Light Grey #E0E0E0 instead.
-
Dusty Wine #722F37
Close to the palette's pinks, but greyed. The greying is exactly what removes it: True Winter colours have no dust in them. Wear Vivid Pink #C51162 instead.
Metals and jewellery for True Winter
Bright, cool, polished metals. Silver, platinum and white gold match the crispness of the palette; a high-polish finish suits you better than a brushed one because it keeps the contrast sharp. Yellow gold reads warm and can look brassy, though a very cool, pale white gold is fine. Clear stones, crystal and black enamel all work well against True Winter colouring.
Best metals: Bright silver, platinum, white gold.
Sister seasons and neighbours
| True Winter | Bright Spring | Deep Winter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Undertone | Cool | Warm | Cool, slightly neutral |
| Depth | Medium to deep | Light to medium | Deepest in the system |
| Chroma | Very high, fully clear | High, fully clear | Medium to rich |
| Contrast | Very high | High | High |
| Best neutral | Optic White #F5F5F5 | Bright White #F5F5F0 | Ice White #F0F0F0 |
| Signature colour | Vivid Royal Blue #0057B8 | Vivid Teal #00C7BE | Midnight Navy #00205B |
True Winter borders Bright Spring and Deep 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.
Frequently asked questions
Is True Winter the same as Bright Winter?
Yes. True Winter, Bright Winter and Clear Winter are three names for the same season. They all describe the high-contrast, high-chroma Winter in the middle of the family. The palette is identical whichever name you use.
What is the difference between True Winter and Cool Winter?
Both are cool. True Winter is defined by brightness and can wear a slightly warm-leaning clear red or coral; Cool Winter is defined by temperature and looks best in pure blue-based colours, including icy pastels. If clarity matters more than coolness on you, you are True Winter.
Can a True Winter wear black and white?
Yes. Optic white and ink black are both in the palette and the combination is one of the best on the season. Pair them with one vivid colour for the classic True Winter look.
How many colours are in the True Winter palette?
The Tone & Fit palette has 38 True Winter 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 True Winter?
Try a vivid true red against your face and then a dusty rose. If the red looks natural and the rose looks tired, you are a bright season. Our free colour analysis tool gives you a season estimate from a single selfie, and the True Winter identification guide walks through the seven signs to check.
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 True Winter or a neighbouring season. The Tone & Fit app for iPhone and Android then builds your full palette of 38 named shades.