Hollis Top
Metallic
#9AA0A6
Cool grey
A True Summer color
Cool grey
neutral in True Summer. Also called Cool Summer in other systems.
By Kathleen Olsen · Updated November 11, 2026
- Hex
- #9AA0A6
- RGB
- 154, 160, 166
- HSL
- 210°, 6%, 63%
Cool grey is the True Summer workhorse: the one neutral in the palette that can be worn head to toe, as the base under every rose, blue and teal in it. It is also the grey most often bought wrong, because the grey on most rails has brown in it, and this one has blue.
Where it sits
Cool grey is a neutral in True Summer. The nearest color on the same side of the warm–cool line is Soft grey-blue #8FA6BC, a Light Summer color, at a distance of 10: close enough to mistake for it on a hanger, far enough to tell apart on a person.
At RGB 154, 160, 166 the three values step up evenly by six toward the blue. That small step toward blue is the entire character of the color: it is what makes it cool. Reverse the step, so the red leads, and it becomes a greige that belongs to a Soft Autumn. Flatten it and it becomes a neutral grey that no season owns and most can wear badly.
A True Summer wears it as tailoring, knits, coats and the base under color: blue-grey trousers with a cool rose knit is the True Summer uniform. It pairs with soft navy as the darker neutral, with soft white as the lighter, and with spruce and periwinkle because they share its blue. Grey on grey, in two depths, is one of the few monochrome outfits that flatters this season.
Retailers call it grey, heather grey, silver, slate, dove, storm, pewter or mist, and most of what sells as heather and stone is a greige. Hold the garment against white paper. Cool grey reads faintly blue. A greige reads faintly brown and belongs to an Autumn. A charcoal reads as a different depth.
Easily confused with
True Summer's own grey-taupe is ten points away and warmer; Light Summer's soft grey-blue and light cool grey are ten and eleven points off, the first bluer and the second lighter. Soft Summer's dusty lavender, soft mauve and greyed aqua are all eleven points off and carry a tint. The practical confusion is with greige, which is not in any Summer palette: on a True Summer it reads as a shadow around the jaw.
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).
Soft grey-blue #8FA6BC
Light Summer anchor · ΔE 10
Dusty lavender #A79BB0
Soft Summer anchor · ΔE 11
Soft mauve #9E8E9E
Soft Summer anchor · ΔE 11
Greyed aqua #8FB0AE
Soft Summer anchor · ΔE 11
Light cool grey #B9BFC4
Light Summer neutral · ΔE 11
Warm grey #A79E92
Bright Spring neutral · ΔE 11
In stock in this color today
As of November 11, 2026, 10 in-stock pieces across STAUD, Marine Layer, Frank & Eileen and Boden sample within a close match of #9AA0A6. 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 #9AA0A6 today, so they are the words to search for.
- STAUD
- Metallic, Ash, Graphite, Light Pebble
- Marine Layer
- Navy Seashell, Charcoal, Medium Heather Grey
- Frank & Eileen
- Bayside, Elephant
- Boden
- Blue Aura
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 grey a True Summer color?
Yes. Cool grey (#9AA0A6) is a neutral in the True Summer palette. No other palette on the same side of the warm–cool line has a color near it, which makes it a reliable test for the season.
Is cool grey warm or cool?
Cool. The blue leads by six points over the red, RGB 154, 160, 166, which is enough to read as blue-grey against white. A grey where the red leads is a greige and belongs to the Autumns. On a True Summer a greige looks dirty; on a Soft Autumn a cool grey looks cold.
Can a Soft Summer wear cool grey?
Yes. Soft Summer's neutrals sit within a few points of it, and its dusty lavender and greyed aqua are eleven points off. A Soft Summer may find it a touch plain next to its own softer greys, but it is cool and medium in depth and works under everything in that palette too.
Is cool grey the same as heather grey?
Rarely. Heather grey as retailers use it is a marled grey that usually runs warm, toward greige, because the fibers are blended with natural tones. Some heathers are cool; most are not. Check against white paper rather than trusting the name.
What colors go with cool grey?
For a True Summer: soft navy, soft white, rose-beige, cool rose, cool raspberry, spruce blue-green and periwinkle. It is a base, so it goes under everything in the palette; the only pairing to avoid is warm beige, which makes it look cold.
The True Summer guide · All in-stock True Summer pieces · Cool rose → · All colors