Sapphire

Where it sits

True Winter palette

Sapphire is an anchor color in True Winter. The nearest color on the same side of the warm–cool line is Sapphire #0F52BA, a Deep Winter color, at a distance of 13: close enough to mistake for it on a hanger, far enough to tell apart on a person.

At RGB 28, 63, 148 the blue runs at five times the red and more than twice the green. That ratio is what makes it cool and clear at the same time. Add red and it turns violet. Add green and it turns teal. Take light out and it becomes navy. Sapphire sits at the point where the blue is still a color and not yet a dark.

A True Winter wears it the way the palette wears all its accents, as one strong color against black and white. A knit under a black coat. A dress with black shoes. A scarf against true white. It also pairs with emerald and hot pink, which few blues do, because all three are cool and saturated to the same degree.

Retailers call it sapphire, royal blue, cobalt, bright navy, or just blue, and most of what sells under those names is either lighter, which is cobalt, or darker, which is navy. Hold the garment against a black. Sapphire stays clearly blue. A navy starts to look like a tinted black.

Easily confused with

True Winter's own cobalt is seven points away and Deep Winter's sapphire is thirteen, both cool and both in the family. True Winter's cool violet is twenty-one points off and redder. From outside the Winters, True Spring's warm navy is twenty-eight points off and warmer. On a True Winter, the Deep Winter sapphire looks a shade heavy. On a Deep Winter, this one looks a shade bright. Both seasons share it in practice.

The nearest named colors in other seasons, by perceptual distance (ΔE in CIELAB; under 10 is hard to tell apart on a screen, over 25 is a different color).

In stock in this color today

As of November 11, 2026, 5 in-stock pieces across STAUD and Boden sample within a close match of #1C3F94. The dot on each card is the color we sampled from the garment itself; trust it over the photograph. Links are affiliate links: we earn a commission when you buy through them, at no cost to you.

Fitzrovia Cord Column Pants

Bright Blue

$180 at Boden

Claretta Dress

Espresso Cobalt

$228 at STAUD

Ashe Dress

Midnight

$228 at STAUD

Mya Ruched Velvet Midi Dress

Sapphire Blue

$199 at Boden

Blakely Dress

Midnight

$228 at STAUD

What it's sold as

Retailers almost never use the palette name. These are the color names on the in-stock pieces that sample within a close match of #1C3F94 today, so they are the words to search for.

STAUD

Espresso Cobalt, Midnight

Boden

Bright Blue, Sapphire Blue

A retailer's name for a color says nothing about its undertone. "Navy" at one shop is a True Winter color and at another a Spring one. The sampled dot on each card above is what we trust.

Questions

The True Winter guide · All in-stock True Winter pieces · ← Magenta · Icy pink → · All colors