Violet Smock Shoulder Cord Top
Storm Blue
#6E7F94
Slate blue
A Soft Summer color
Slate blue
anchor color 2 of 10 in Soft Summer. Also called Muted Summer in other systems.
By Kathleen Olsen · Updated November 11, 2026
- Hex
- #6E7F94
- RGB
- 110, 127, 148
- HSL
- 213°, 15%, 51%
Slate blue is grey with blue in it, or blue with grey in it, depending on the light. It is the second anchor of Soft Summer and six points from True Summer's dusty blue, which makes it the shared mid-blue of the cool muted seasons. True Winter's cool slate grey is nine points away on the other side, where the blue runs out.
Where it sits
Slate blue is an anchor color in Soft Summer. Its closest relative outside the palette is Dusty blue #6E8AA6, a True Summer color, at a perceptual distance of 6. That is near enough for that season to wear it as a neutral, with the accents kept in its own palette.
Soft Summer is the season of colors that cannot quite decide what they are, and slate blue is the type specimen. In daylight it is a blue. Indoors it is a grey. On a Soft Summer face it is the color that makes the eyes look clear, which is the whole job of the palette.
It behaves as a neutral. Slate blue with dove taupe, with soft charcoal, with dusty rose, is the Soft Summer wardrobe in three pieces, and none of them fights the others. It is also the color a Soft Summer can wear instead of navy, which is often too dark and too clean for the season.
The gap to True Summer's dusty blue is six points, which is not visible on a hanger. The gap to cool slate grey is nine, and that one is visible: cool slate grey has lost the blue and reads as a true grey. Slate blue keeps just enough blue to count as a color.
Easily confused with
Dusty blue, #6E8AA6, is True Summer's version and the same color a shade bluer. Cool slate grey, #6C757D, is the True Winter neutral nine points away with the blue drained out. Muted teal in the same Soft Summer palette is fourteen off with green in it. If a slate garment looks green indoors, it is the teal.
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).
Dusty blue #6E8AA6
True Summer anchor · ΔE 6
Cool slate grey #6C757D
True Winter neutral · ΔE 9
Soft grey-blue #8FA6BC
Light Summer anchor · ΔE 15
Periwinkle #8E9BC4
True Summer anchor · ΔE 16
Cool grey #9AA0A6
True Summer neutral · ΔE 16
Muted teal #5E827E
Soft Autumn anchor · ΔE 17
In stock in this color today
As of November 11, 2026, 7 in-stock pieces across Boden, STAUD, Christy Dawn and Marine Layer sample within a close match of #6E7F94. 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 #6E7F94 today, so they are the words to search for.
- Boden
- Storm Blue, Blue Aura
- STAUD
- Ash
- Christy Dawn
- Ocean Silk
- Marine Layer
- Winter Sky
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 slate blue a Soft Summer color?
Yes. Slate blue (#6E7F94) is an anchor color in the Soft Summer palette, and close enough to a True Summer or True Winter color for those seasons to wear it as a neutral.
Can a True Summer wear slate blue?
Yes. True Summer is six points away and its dusty blue is the same color with a little more blue. The two Summers share this one completely.
Is slate blue a blue or a grey?
Both, by the light. In daylight the blue shows; under warm indoor light the grey takes over. RGB 110, 127, 148 is more blue than red, which is what keeps it on the blue side of the line.
Can a Soft Summer wear navy?
Soft navy, yes, which is the palette's own darkened version. Clean navy is often too dark and too saturated for the season and reads as black does on a Summer, a little heavy. Slate blue does the mid-blue job with less weight.
What colors go with slate blue?
For a Soft Summer: dove taupe, soft charcoal, dusty rose, soft mauve, greyed aqua. For a True Summer: cool grey and rose-beige. Slate blue with white is crisp; with cream it goes muddy.
The Soft Summer guide · All in-stock Soft Summer pieces · ← Dusty rose · Soft mauve → · All colors