Color names in fashion : Reference guide for 100+ colours

This post gives you the names of different colors and how they look like. Have you ever been at a loss describing the correct name you have in your mind, anywhere? Then this post is for you.

When I reached the wonderfully stocked fabric store I started blabbering – “Ba ba ba”. I had forgotten to bring my fabric piece for matching. The showroom salesman asked me helpfully “Burgundy?”. “No, No, I want a Blue with some green and a little bit of white” – “Aquamarine? teal? oh ok, Sea foam green?” I should HAVE brought that fabric piece! I clearly did not know the color names that matter.

Even the teeniest difference you envision in shades and hues of colors has already been invented and named. That too, such cute little names. 

Having all those color names used in fashion design in one place seems a good idea so that I can come back and reference whenever I wanted to know about that purple with just that mix of blue in it and some white (which is Periwinkle, by the way) or white itself which is milky but with a pink undertone ( Alabaster). Or should words like blueish purple or cloudy white as I used to say suffice?.

Is it enough that fashion designers use these color names and you come across them and guess at it?. No way! Knowledge is power. So here are the colors that I have seen and loved

Names of colors

[toc] 

Blue colors

Blue is my favorite color. And so is it the favorite of most of the people of this world – Refer this post if you do not believe me. There are so many variations to this color that one of them is sure to be a favourite of yours too.

Baby blue is a very light pastel blue. Periwinkle is a mix of blue and purple with white. Cobalt blue, Cerulean blue, sapphire blue, royal blue are all saturated shades of rich blue color. French Navy, Navy blue are dark blues with a lot of depth. Azure is a clear deep blue sky blue.

You can learn more about color combinations suitable for blue color in fashion here.

Green colors 

Green is a color that symbolizes concerns towards ecology and the environment. It represents nature and evokes a soothing, relaxing sensation. It is a color of happiness.

Nothing can be as refreshing as looking at some of the green shades like Mint green, lime green and jade. Emerald, a rich green colour with just a hint of blue in it was the Pantone color of the year 2013. Forrest green is a dark green color.

You can read about more shades in green in these detailed post.

Green -Blue combination colors

These are the most refreshing colors in the whole spectrum. The jewel tone of Peacock blue, as well as Capri, the color of the sky are all captivating. Aqua is a light to medium blue-green. Teal is a rich blue-green combination but then so is turquoise. Aquamarine is a clear light green-blue color.

White colors

Impossible to write about all of the different variations of white but some prominently used white shades are off-whites &  creams other than the stark white color. White in all its variations points to serenity and peace. It also denotes innocence and purity.

Alabaster is a warm white with a pinkish tone. Ivory has a yellow overtone to its white color. An egg-shell white has some brownish shade added to it.

Beige colors

Beige is a creamy tan color and Wikipedia lists Beige as a shade of white. I would not. Beige in fashion has a different and distinct identity. Though the people who crave colors may see beige as boring, it is an important color in fashion design. There are people who live their whole life in shades of beige.

Brown colors

Brown is a color that denotes stability. Coffee is the color of roasted coffee bean and as such you must know that coffee beans vary so much in color but generally it is dark brown color.

Bronze is a dark brown color with a tint of green. Fawn is a yellowish dark tan. Auburn is a dark copper brown shade with a golden shine. 

Curiously most of the Browns have associations with food. Chocolate, peanut, coffee, caramel, nutmeg, cinnamon. Maybe it is my selective vision and I chose those and left out most other less appetizing names.

Yellow colors

Yellow is an energizing color. Remember the stimulating effect of those Yellow sunflowers in the famous Vincent Van Gogh painting. It represented all the optimism that Van Gogh apparently felt during that period.

Honeysuckle yellow was the Pantone color of the year 2011. Chartreuse  is a yellow green color. Learn more about using yellow color in fashion and the colors that go well with it here.

Red colors

Red color can literally accelerate your heartbeat. It is a stimulating color, a very active and warm color. Burgundy is my favorite red color and it is a deep wine red color that suits almost everybody. Cardinal is a similar vivid red. Learn more about what colors go good with red color clothes

Purple colors

Purple and Violet are shades that represent a peaceful environment. They denote royalty and justice. Mauve is a mixture of pink and lavender. Radiant Orchid was the Pantone color of the year 2014 and Marsala for the year 2015 and Ultra Violet is the color for 2018. And the color of 2022 is Very peri, a shade of purple again. Someone sure loves Purple color there.

Eggplant is a bronze-purple and amethyst a  reddish-violet shade. 

You can learn more about Purple color shades in this post.

Pink colors

The right shade of pink can be the most soothing color for you. Rose gold is a pink color with lots of variations – it is available in lots of hues ranging from a soft shade to deeper ones.Rose quartz was Pantone color of the year for the year 2016.

You can learn the names of more pink shades in this post on Pink color

Orange colors

Orange, the color of Pumpkins apricots and peaches may not be a favorite of many ( It is said to be the least favourite of all colors) but it has an energizing vibe because of it’s association with energy, warmth, and the sun.

Peach, Apricot, Coral – all of them seem so similar, it is confusing. They all fall somewhere between the colors of orange and red/pink. Peach is a color between red orange and pink , with a little bit of white making it a pastel shade of orange. Apricot color is a yellowish-orangish-pinkish color (Wikipedia). Coral is a darker shade out of all these. Salmon is a little pinker than peach.

Black & Grey colors

Black, basically means a lack of color but somehow or the other it has turned out to be a fashion staple.  Is there any adult who does not have a single piece of black clothing or accessory in their wardrobe? If there is, I think that it is very rare.

Ebony is another name for black, some would say with a reddish tinge to it.

Grey is made up of equal amounts of the primary colors. The best thing about grey is that when it is with another color it starts to be that color’s complement. It will absorb the colors that surround it and enrich it

You can find even more shades of grey that is told in this post here – 50 shades of grey color in fashion. And more colors of Black in this post.

Pastel Colors

More Color names – Alphabetical

This is a more comprehensive look at different colors -according to how they are placed in the alphabetical order.

Color names starting with A

Under the alphabet A comes color names like Absinthe, Acajou, Adriatic, Alabaster, Alice blue, Almond green, Almond, Amaranth, Amber, Amethyst, Apple green, Apricot, Aquamarine, Ash, Asparagus, Aubergine, Auburn, Aventurine and Azure.

Learn more colors starting with A here.

Color names starting with B

Under the alphabet B comes color names like Baby blue, Baby pink, Ball park blue, Baltic, Bamboo, Battle ship grey, Bean blue, Beaver, Beige, Begonia, Beetroot, Biscuit, Bird of paradise, blond, Blue grey, Blue green, Blue heather, Blush, Blush pink, Bordeaux, Bottle green, Briar rose, Brick, Blood, Berry, Bronze, Brown bread, Brown heather, Brown sugar, Buff, Burgundy, Burnt orange, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Buttercup yellow, Butterscotch.

You can find more colors that start with alphabet B here.

Color names starting with C

Under the alphabet C comes color names like Cadet blue, Cadet grey, Cafe au lait, Caffeine, Camel, Canary yellow, Capri blue, Camel, Canary yellow, Capri blue, Cappuccino, Caramel, Cardinal red, Carmine, Carnation pink, Camelian, Carrot, Cidar, Cantaloupe, Clay, Coconut, Celeste, Celestial, Cerise, Cerulean, Chalk white, Chameleon, Champagne, Chamoise, Chartreuse, Cherry, Chestnut, Chimney sweep, China blue, Current, Candy, Cotton candy, Chocolate, Cigar brown, Cinnamon, Citrine, Citron, claire de lune, Claret, Clay, Cobalt blue, Cochineal, Cocoa, Cambridge blue, Copper, Coquelicot, Coral red, Coral pink, Cornflower blue, Crimson red, Currant, Cyclamen, Claret, Carob.

Read more on Color names that start with alphabet B

Color names starting with D

Under the alphabet D comes color names like Dark wood, Dawn pink, Delphi blue, Dove grey, Daffodil, Dandelion, Dirt brown, Drab, Dusty rose, Dusty pink.

Color names starting with E

Under the alphabet E comes color names like Eau de nil, Ecru, Egg plant, Egg shell, Emerald.

Color names starting with F

Under the alphabet F comes color names like Fading rose, Fairytale green, Fawn, Flame, Frost blue, Flax, Flesh pink, Florentine, Forrest green, Forget me not, French grey, French violet, French rose, Fuchsia, Flamengo pink.

Read more on color names that start with F here.

Color names starting with G

Under the alphabet G comes color names like Garnet, Gentleman’s grey, Geranium pink, Ginger, Gobelin blue, Gold, Grass green, Grey stone, Grey blue, Grey pearl, Gun metal.

Color names starting with H

Under the alphabet H comes color names like Harlequin, Havana, Heather, Heliotrope, Henna, Hot pink, Hunters green, Hyacinth blue, Hydrangea.

Color names starting with I

Under the alphabet I comes color names like Indian Red, Indigo, Imperial Red, Iron Grey, Iris Blue, Ivory.

Color names starting with J

Under the alphabet J comes color names like Jade, Japanese Red, Joquil yellow, Jungle green.

Color names starting with K

Under the alphabet K comes color names like Kendal green, Khakhi.

Color names starting with L

Under the alphabet L comes color names like Lapiz Lazuli, Lawn green, Lavender, leaf brown, Lemon yellow, Litchen green, Lilac, Lavender grey, Lime,Lime green, Lincoln green.

Color names starting with M

Under the alphabet M comes color names like Magenta, Magnolia, Mahogany, Maize, Mandarin, Marigold, Marine blue, Maroon, Marshmallow, Mauve, Merry widow, Mexican pink, Midnight blue, Moss green, Mouse grey, Mulberry, Mustard yellow, Myrtle green.

Color names starting with N

Under the alphabet N comes color names like Nacarat, Navy blue, Niagara blue, Nickel, Nile green, Nut brown.

Color names starting with O

Under the alphabet O comes color names like Ochre, Orchid pink, Old gold, Old Rose, Olive green, Opera Mauve, Orange red, Orchid, Oxford blue, Oxford grey, Oyster white.

Color names starting with P

Under the alphabet P comes color names like Paille, Palisandre, Palm leaf, pansy purple, Parchment, Police box blue, Parrot green, Paisley green, Peacocks plume, pastel blue, pea green, peach, punch, peacock blue, peacock green, pearl grey, periwinkle, Persian blue, Persian violet, pine, pistachio green, platinum, plum, pomegranate, poppy red, porcelain blue, powder blue, primrose yellow, puce, pumpkin and purple.

Color names starting with Q

Under the alphabet Q comes color names like Quaker grey, Queen blue.

Color names starting with R

Under the alphabet R comes color names like Raisin, Raspberry, Raven, Red lilac, Rich green, Rose, Rose pink, Rouge, Royal blue, Ruby, Rust, Russian Blue, Russian green.

Color names starting with S

Under the alphabet S comes color names like Sable brown, Safari, Saffron, Sage green, Salmon, Sand, Sapphire, Scarlet, Sea green, Seal brown, Sepia, Serpentine, Sky blue, Slate, Spring green, Steel blue, Straw, Strawberry red, Strawberry pink, Sulfur yellow, Spanish yellow, Sweet pea pink.

Color names starting with T

Under the alphabet T comes color names like Tan, Tangerine, Taupe, Tawney, Tea rose, Terracotta, Thistle, Tilleul, Titian Brown, Tobacco, Tomato red, Tomato -cherry, Topaz, Turquoise, Tyrian purple.

Color names starting with U

Under the alphabet U comes color names like Ultramarine, Umber.

Color names starting with V

Under the alphabet V comes color names like Van Dyke, Venetian Red, Verdant green, Verdigris, Vermilion, Violet.

Color names starting with W

Under the alphabet W comes color names like walnut brown, watermelon pink, willow green, wild orchid, wine, wisteria, wild rose, wood brown.

Color names starting with Y

Under the alphabet Y comes color names like Yale blue, Yellow.

Color name starting with Z

Under the alphabet Z is color name zenith blue.

Related posts :

How to find what colour clothes suit me best?

Colour chart for clothes.