Elsie Cashmere V Neck Sweater
Clear Sky
#8FB0AE
Greyed aqua
A Soft Summer color
Greyed aqua
anchor color 9 of 10 in Soft Summer. Also called Muted Summer in other systems.
By Kathleen Olsen · Updated November 11, 2026
- Hex
- #8FB0AE
- RGB
- 143, 176, 174
- HSL
- 176°, 17%, 63%
Greyed aqua is the Soft Summer light blue-green: an aqua with enough grey that it reads as mist. It is nine points from the season's own eucalyptus and ten from True Summer's cool mint, so it sits between the greens and blues of the cool muted palettes. The Summers share it.
Where it sits
Greyed aqua is an anchor color in Soft Summer. Its closest relative outside the palette is Cool mint #9DC4B5, a True Summer color, at a perceptual distance of 10. That is near enough for that season to wear it as a neutral, with the accents kept in its own palette.
At RGB 143, 176, 174 the green and blue are level and the red is lower, with a modest gap. The level green and blue make it an aqua. The modest gap is the grey. It is the color of sea fog or weathered copper. Clear the grey and it becomes the mints of the lighter Summers; deepen it and it becomes Soft Summer's muted teal.
A Soft Summer wears it as a light color that still looks quiet: a shirt, a knit, a summer dress, a scarf. It lifts the face without the sharpness of a clear pastel. It works with soft white, dove taupe and soft navy, and it sits well next to dusty rose and slate blue.
Retail calls it sea glass, mist, dusty aqua, mineral and fog. Boden's Blue Aura and Clear Sky, Marine Layer's Winter Sky and STAUD's Sky have landed on it. The version to avoid is the clear, bright aqua, which belongs to the Springs and looks loud on a Soft Summer.
Easily confused with
The nearest colors are Soft Summer's eucalyptus at nine points, greener, and True Summer's cool mint at ten, clearer. True Summer's cool grey is eleven points off and has no green. Light Summer's light cool grey and light sea green are both thirteen points away. Everything close is a Summer color. The warm aquas of the Springs are over twenty points off and far brighter.
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).
Cool mint #9DC4B5
True Summer anchor · ΔE 10
Cool grey #9AA0A6
True Summer neutral · ΔE 11
Light cool grey #B9BFC4
Light Summer neutral · ΔE 13
Light sea green #8FC6B4
Light Summer anchor · ΔE 13
Soft grey-blue #8FA6BC
Light Summer anchor · ΔE 14
Dove grey #C3C7CC
Light Summer neutral · ΔE 15
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 #8FB0AE. 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 #8FB0AE today, so they are the words to search for.
- STAUD
- Endless Summer, Still Life, Lakeside
- Boden
- Clear 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 greyed aqua a Soft Summer color?
Yes. Greyed aqua (#8FB0AE) is an anchor color in the Soft Summer palette, and close enough to a True Summer color for that season to wear it as a neutral.
Can a True Summer wear greyed aqua?
Yes. True Summer's cool mint is ten points away. On a True Summer greyed aqua reads a shade dusty, and it works with soft white and cool grey.
Is greyed aqua a blue or a green?
Neither wins. The green and blue are level, which is what makes it aqua. In warm light it reads greener and in cool light bluer. That is why it pairs with both the blues and the greens in the palette.
What colors go with greyed aqua?
For a Soft Summer: soft white, dove taupe, soft navy, soft charcoal, dusty rose, slate blue and soft mauve. Aqua with soft navy is the pairing for every day. Avoid black, which hardens it, and camel, which makes it look sour.
How is greyed aqua different from eucalyptus?
Eucalyptus is nine points away and greener, closer to a soft sage. Greyed aqua has more blue. They are close enough to wear as a tonal pair, and both are Soft Summer anchors.
The Soft Summer guide · All in-stock Soft Summer pieces · ← Dusty lavender · Soft cool raspberry → · All colors