Fitzrovia Cord Column Pants
Bright Blue
#1F4FA8
Cobalt
A True Winter color
Cobalt
anchor color 2 of 10 in True Winter. Also called Cool Winter in other systems.
By Kathleen Olsen · Updated November 11, 2026
- Hex
- #1F4FA8
- RGB
- 31, 79, 168
- HSL
- 219°, 69%, 39%
Cobalt is a saturated, medium-dark blue with no green and no grey in it. It is anchor color two in the True Winter palette and the blue that shows what the season is about: clean, cool, strong, with nothing softened. Royal blue is the shop name for it, more or less.
Where it sits
Cobalt is an anchor color in True Winter. Its closest relative outside the palette is Sapphire #0F52BA, a Deep Winter color, at a perceptual distance of 9. That is near enough for that season to wear it as a neutral, with the accents kept in its own palette.
Blue is the easiest color to get almost right and the hardest to get exactly right, because every blue looks fine from across the room. Cobalt is a specific point. Lighter and it becomes electric blue, which is Bright Winter's. Darker and it becomes navy. Greener and it becomes teal, which the Winters mostly do not wear. Cobalt is the blue a True Winter should look for first.
It works because it matches the contrast of the season. True Winter coloring is high-contrast and cool, and cobalt is a high-contrast cool blue. It does not compete with the face the way it would on a Summer, where the same blue looks like it was painted on. On a True Winter it looks like it belongs.
The one season that borrows it is Deep Winter, whose sapphire sits only nine points away. The difference is depth. Sapphire is a shade darker. A Deep Winter in cobalt looks fine; a Deep Winter in sapphire looks slightly better. The reverse is also true.
Easily confused with
Deep Winter's sapphire is the near-twin, close enough that most people would not split them. Bright Winter's electric blue is the next one over, brighter and a touch lighter, and the two are easy to confuse under store lights. Both Springs have a warm periwinkle that photographs similarly and is nothing like it in person, because the warmth shows.
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).
Sapphire #0F52BA
Deep Winter anchor · ΔE 9
Electric blue #1F6FEB
Bright Winter anchor · ΔE 22
Cobalt #1C4FD6
Bright Winter anchor · ΔE 28
Warm periwinkle #7C8FD6
True Spring anchor · ΔE 29
Warm navy #2C3D66
True Spring neutral · ΔE 30
Blackened navy #102A56
Deep Winter anchor · ΔE 31
In stock in this color today
As of November 11, 2026, 3 in-stock pieces across Boden, STAUD and Marine Layer sample within a close match of #1F4FA8. 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.
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 #1F4FA8 today, so they are the words to search for.
- Boden
- Bright Blue
- STAUD
- Espresso Cobalt
- Marine Layer
- Chocolate & Coronet
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
Is cobalt a True Winter color?
Yes. Cobalt (#1F4FA8) is an anchor color in the True Winter palette, and close enough to a Deep Winter color for that season to wear it as a neutral.
Can a Deep Winter wear cobalt?
Yes. Deep Winter's own sapphire is nine points away, which is within the range where the two seasons share a color. Cobalt is very slightly lighter and brighter. If you are choosing between the two, sapphire is the safer Deep Winter pick.
Is cobalt the same as royal blue?
In retail, usually. Royal blue is a name, not a value, and most garments sold as royal blue land somewhere between cobalt and sapphire. Check the photograph against a navy: if it reads as clearly brighter and bluer than navy without going toward turquoise, it is in cobalt territory.
Can a Summer wear cobalt?
Not well. The Summers are cool, but they are soft, and cobalt is anything but soft. On a True Summer it overpowers the face. True Summer's version of a strong blue is bluebell, which is lighter and greyer.
Is cobalt a warm or cool blue?
Cool. It has no green and no violet pulling it anywhere, which is what makes it the reference blue for the coolest, highest-contrast season. The warm blues, which lean toward periwinkle or turquoise, belong to the Springs.
The True Winter guide · All in-stock True Winter pieces · ← True red · Emerald → · All colors