Colours of textiles and dress
Dyed, woven, printed and worn.
#FF0000
Red
A primary colour seen in light, pigment, and tradition worldwideBasic colour · 🇺🇸 United States +5
#000000
Black
The colour seen when no visible light is present or all light is absorbedBasic colour
#00FF00
Green
The colour between cyan and yellow, seen widely in plants and natureBasic colour · 🇮🇪 Ireland +1
#0000FF
Blue
A primary colour seen in the sky and sea, used since ancient times in art and dyeBasic colour
#FFFFFF
White
The lightest colour, seen in snow, milk and chalk, and opposite to blackBasic colour
#808080
Grey
A neutral colour between black and white, seen in clouds, ash, and undyed woolBasic colour
#00FFFF
Cyan
A blue-green colour found between blue and green on the spectrum and key in printingBasic colour
#FF00FF
Magenta
A purplish-pink colour named after a battle and key to modern printingNamed shade · 🇫🇷 France +4
#000080
Navy blue
A deep blue shade named for the uniforms of the Royal NavyNamed shade · 🇺🇸 United States +2
#008080
Teal
A dark cyan named after the Eurasian teal bird’s blue-green head stripeNamed shade
#002366
Royal blue
A strong, deep blue linked with royalty and national flagsNamed shade · 🇫🇷 France +4
#C41E3A
Cardinal
A strong, deep red linked to church robes and team coloursNamed shade
#191970
Midnight blue
A deep blue that recalls the sky late at night under moonlightNamed shade
#B0E0E6
Powder blue
A pale blue once made from powdered cobalt glass, now a standard paint and web colourNamed shade
#6699CC
Blue-gray
A cool-toned mix of blue and grey seen in nature, art, and uniformsNamed shade
#228B22
Forest green
A deep green matching the leaves of temperate forestsNamed shade
#FF91AF
Baker-Miller Pink
A strong pink once used in prisons and sports to try to calm aggressionNamed shade · 🇨🇭 Switzerland +1
#6495ED
Cornflower blue
A clear, medium-light blue named for the cornflower and prized in sapphiresNamed shade
#ADD8E6
Light blue
A pale blue shade found between blue and cyan, seen in flags and daily life worldwideNamed shade · 🇫🇷 France +5
#000F89
Phthalo blue
A strong, synthetic blue pigment made from copper phthalocyaninePigment · 🇩🇪 Germany +1
#2D68C4
UCLA Blue
A clear blue shade worn by UCLA's teams and tied to the Pacific coastNamed shade · 🇺🇸 United States
#81D8D0
Tiffany Blue
A light blue-green shade trademarked by Tiffany & Co. for its boxes and brandingNamed shade
#EDC9AF
Desert sand
A pale, reddish yellow inspired by the colour of sand in desertsNamed shade · 🇺🇸 United States
#123524
Phthalo green
A synthetic green pigment made from copper and chlorinated phthalocyaninePigment
#3B7A57
Jungle green
A rich medium green named for the colour of dense rainforest foliageNamed shade · 🇺🇸 United States +1
#B9D9EB
Columbia blue
A pale blue shade first used by Columbia University and its student societiesNamed shade · 🇺🇸 United States
Yellow
Diarylide pigment
A family of yellow organic pigments widely used in printing inksPigment
Gold and metallics
Metal effect pigments
Pigments that give paints and inks a metallic look using tiny metal flakesPigment · 🇪🇬 Egypt +1
#56A0D3
Carolina blue
A light blue shade tied to the University of North CarolinaNamed shade · 🇺🇸 United States
Red
Erythrosine
A bright red-pink synthetic dye used in food, cosmetics, and industryDye · 🇺🇸 United States +4
#915F6D
Raspberry glacé
A medium raspberry shade known from the Plochere Color SystemNamed shade
#EED202
Safety yellow
A bright yellow chosen for safety signs and high-visibility gearNamed shade · 🇺🇸 United States +1
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Blue-gray: IlyaHaykinson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Columbia blue: F. Earl Christy, Public domain, source
- Cornflower blue: TeunSpaans, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Desert sand: Luca Galuzzi ( Lucag ), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Light blue: Yosef Ben Melamed, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Magenta: Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Midnight blue: Kippelboy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Navy blue: Official Navy Page, Public domain, source
- Phthalo blue: Smokefoot, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- UCLA Blue: mark6mauno, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- White: Steve Snodgrass, CC BY 2.0, source
- Forest green: Nicholas A. Tonelli, CC BY 2.0, source
- Effect pigment: FK1954, Public domain, source
- Grey: John Fowler, CC BY 2.0, source
- Black: w:Harlan Kredit, Public domain, source
- Red: Sander van der Wel, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Cardinal: Philippe de Champaigne and workshop, Public domain, source
- Green: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cyan: Claude Monet, Public domain, source
- Teal: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Tiffany Blue: Ajay Suresh, CC BY 2.0, source
- Blue: NOAA-JMA, CC BY 4.0, source