Colours of textiles and dress
Dyed, woven, printed and worn.
Brown
Aniline
A colourless oil that darkens with air and launched the first synthetic dyesPigment · 🇩🇪 Germany
#C3B091
Khaki
A light tan with a yellowish tinge, once made for military uniformsNamed shade · 🇮🇳 India +2
#F5F5DC
Beige
A pale, warm colour named after natural, undyed woolNamed shade · 🇫🇷 France +2
Brown
Catechu
A brown plant extract used as a dye, tannin, and preservativeColour named from nature · 🇯🇵 Japan +2
Brown
Drab
A dull light brown named after undyed homespun wool clothNamed shade
Brown
Goethite
A yellowish to reddish brown mineral used as a pigment since ancient timesPigment · 🇩🇪 Germany +3
Brown
Pinto horse
A horse coat with large patches of white and another colourNamed shade · 🇺🇸 United States +2
Brown
Juglone
A plant compound that gives deep brown-orange colour to cloth, ink and foodPigment
#D2B48C
Tan
A light brown shade named after oak bark used in leather tanningNamed shade · 🇺🇸 United States +1
#674C47
Liver
A dark brown shade seen in animal coats and named after the organNamed shade
Brown
Bryoria fremontii
A dark brown lichen used for food, medicine, and dye by First Nations in North AmericaColour named from nature · 🇷🇺 Russia
#EDC9AF
Desert sand
A pale, reddish yellow inspired by the colour of sand in desertsNamed shade · 🇺🇸 United States
#E5AA70
Fawn
A pale yellowish tan seen in fabrics and many dog breedsNamed shade
#C19A6B
Camel
A light yellowish brown named for the colour of camel hairNamed shade
Brown
Gambiered Guangdong gauze
A silk from Guangdong, China, dyed with plant juice and river mudTraditional colour · 🇨🇳 China +1
Brown
Earth tone
A palette of colours inspired by soil, stone, and natural landscapesColour named from nature
Brown
Walnut
A brown dye and ink made from the husk of the walnut fruitColour named from nature · 🇮🇷 Iran +5
Brown
Catechu
A reddish-brown dye and extract from the heartwood of Senegalia catechuDye · 🇮🇳 India +3
Brown
Quercus lusitanica
A Mediterranean oak shrub that yields nutgalls for dyeingColour named from nature · 🇵🇹 Portugal +2
Brown
Crotal dye
A traditional dye from a common lichen, giving deep red-brown and rusty-orange shadesDye · 🇮🇹 Italy
Brown
Ephedra cutleri dye
A dye from a desert shrub used for light tan or reddish coloursColour named from nature · 🇺🇸 United States
Brown
Little-leaf mountain mahogany dye
A reddish-brown dye made from the tap-root bark of a desert shrubDye · 🇺🇸 United States
Brown
Gambier
A yellow-brown plant extract used as dye, tannin and traditional medicineDye · 🇮🇩 Indonesia +4
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Beige: Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Desert sand: Luca Galuzzi ( Lucag ), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Liver: Rob Hanson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tan: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bryoria fremontii: Millifolium, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Catechu: Maša Sinreih in Valentina Vivod, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Aniline: Smokefoot, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Khaki: Mehlauge, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Walnut: Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Drab: M0tty, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Goethite: Raimond Spekking, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ephedra cutleri dye: Craig Martin, CC0, source
- Pinto horse: Michael Apel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Camel: Garrondo, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gambiered Guangdong gauze: 方人也, CC BY 2.5, source
- Catechu: Shaik Jaber Al-Shihab, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Crotal dye: Przykuta, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Little-leaf mountain mahogany dye: Unknown author, Public domain, source