Color Season
Soft Summer Color Palette
Soft Summer is neutral cool (predominantly cool with subtle warmth) with muted/soft chroma and medium saturation/value. Your primary characteristic is softness/mutedness - you are the darkest and most muted of Summer palettes.
The full Soft Summer palette — 56 colors.
This is your wardrobe palette.
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Colors to use sparingly
These shades tend to fight Soft Summer coloring — too pure or saturated for a Soft Summer palette. Wear them only as small accents away from the face, if at all.
Soft Summer characteristics
The defining quality of Soft Summer is softness/mutedness.
- Undertone
- neutral cool (predominantly cool with subtle warmth)
- Value
- medium (darkest of Summer palettes)
- Chroma
- muted/soft (colors are gently grayed and softly warmed with gold)
New to undertone, value, and chroma? Learn the color fundamentals →
Best neutrals for Soft Summer
- Black: charcoal or cool charcoal (not true black - too harsh, creates blanching effect)
- White: cool ivory or soft white (not true white - too stark)
The Soft Summer mood
Sister Season
Soft Summer sits next to Soft Autumn on the seasonal flow chart — compare their palettes to tell them apart.
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Soft Summer — frequently asked
Is Soft Summer warm or cool?
Soft Summer has a neutral cool (predominantly cool with subtle warmth) undertone. Its defining quality is softness/mutedness.
What does the Soft Summer color palette look like?
Soft Summer is neutral cool (predominantly cool with subtle warmth) with muted/soft chroma and medium saturation/value. Your primary characteristic is softness/mutedness - you are the darkest and most muted of Summer palettes.
What black and white should a Soft Summer wear?
For black, choose charcoal or cool charcoal (not true black - too harsh, creates blanching effect). For white, choose cool ivory or soft white (not true white - too stark).
What season is Soft Summer most often confused with?
Soft Summer sits next to Soft Autumn on the seasonal flow chart, so they are easy to mix up. Compare their palettes side by side to spot the difference in undertone and depth.
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