Swing Crew Tee
Faded Black
#2E3338
Cool charcoal
A True Winter and Bright Winter color
Cool charcoal
neutral in True Winter · neutral in Bright Winter. Also called Cool Winter, Clear Winter in other systems.
By Kathleen Olsen · Updated November 11, 2026
- Hex
- #2E3338
- RGB
- 46, 51, 56
- HSL
- 210°, 10%, 20%
Cool charcoal is dark grey with blue under it, a black that has been given some air. It is the dark neutral True Winter and Bright Winter share, and it sits three points from Deep Winter's charcoal, which makes it, in practice, the Winter charcoal. Warm the undertone and it becomes an Autumn color.
Where it sits
Cool charcoal is a neutral in True Winter and also appears in Bright Winter. Its closest relative outside the palette is Charcoal #2A2D34, a Deep Winter color, at a perceptual distance of 3. That is near enough for that season to wear it as a neutral, with the accents kept in its own palette.
Charcoal is the color people buy when black feels like too much, and most of them never check which charcoal they have bought. The warm ones have brown under the grey. This one has blue. Beside a navy, cool charcoal looks like a grey that belongs; beside a camel, it looks like a grey that has wandered in.
On a True or Bright Winter it does everything black does and photographs better, because black on camera goes flat and charcoal keeps its shape. It is the right dark for a suit, a coat or trousers. It is also the dark that lets the Winter accents, emerald, hot pink, cobalt, read at full strength without looking like a flag.
The three Winter charcoals, this one, Deep Winter's and Bright Winter's near-black warm charcoal, span seven points. Soft Summer's soft charcoal is twelve points lighter and greyer. Dark Autumn's warm charcoal is eight points off with the undertone flipped. The family is tight and the Winters can wear any of theirs.
Easily confused with
Charcoal, #2A2D34, in Deep Winter is three points away and is the same color. Warm charcoal in Dark Autumn is eight points off and brown under the grey, and it is the one that gets sold next to this under the same name. Soft charcoal in Soft Summer is the same color with light and grey let in.
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).
Charcoal #2A2D34
Deep Winter neutral · ΔE 3
Cool espresso #2B2529
Deep Winter neutral · ΔE 7
Warm charcoal #35312C
Dark Autumn neutral · ΔE 8
Soft navy #3C4657
Soft Summer neutral · ΔE 11
Soft charcoal #4A4E54
Soft Summer neutral · ΔE 12
Warm espresso near-black #2A211A
Bright Spring neutral · ΔE 13
In stock in this color today
As of November 11, 2026, 42 in-stock pieces across Marine Layer, Boden, Frank & Eileen, STAUD and Christy Dawn sample within a close match of #2E3338. 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 #2E3338 today, so they are the words to search for.
- Marine Layer
- Faded Black, India Ink, Charcoal, Forest, Forest - Petite
- Boden
- Silver, Teal Ocean, Metallic, Midnight Emerald
- Frank & Eileen
- Charcoal, British Royal Navy, Marine
- STAUD
- Smoke, Porcupine Quill, Moonlight, Botanical Shadows
- Christy Dawn
- Chocolate Cameo
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 cool charcoal a True Winter or Bright Winter color?
Both. Cool charcoal (#2E3338) is a neutral in the True Winter and Bright Winter palettes, and close enough to a Deep Winter color for that season to wear it as a neutral.
Can a Deep Winter wear cool charcoal?
Yes. Deep Winter's own charcoal is three points away, closer than two dye lots of the same garment. All three Winters wear this as their dark neutral.
Is charcoal better than black for a Winter?
Not better, different. Winters can wear black. Charcoal does the same job with less severity and photographs with more depth. Most Winters do well with both and reach for charcoal in daylight and black at night.
Can an Autumn wear cool charcoal?
Dark Autumn can, as a dark, at a cost. Its own warm charcoal is eight points away with brown under the grey, and that one flatters where this one flattens. The other Autumns should stay with brown and olive darks.
What is the difference between charcoal and soft charcoal?
Light and grey. Soft charcoal, the Soft Summer neutral, is twelve points lighter and has been greyed. It reads as a mid grey in daylight. This one reads as a near-black.
The True Winter guide · All in-stock True Winter pieces · True red → · All colors