Button Cuff Ribbed Boatneck
Maroon
#9E5C6B
Soft cool raspberry
A Soft Summer color
Soft cool raspberry
anchor color 10 of 10 in Soft Summer. Also called Muted Summer in other systems.
By Kathleen Olsen · Updated November 11, 2026
- Hex
- #9E5C6B
- RGB
- 158, 92, 107
- HSL
- 346°, 26%, 49%
Soft cool raspberry is the Soft Summer red: a raspberry with the brightness turned down and a little grey folded in. It is the deepest color in the palette and the one that does the job red does for everyone else, without the volume that makes a true red wear a Soft Summer instead of the other way around.
Where it sits
Soft cool raspberry is an anchor color in Soft Summer. The nearest color on the same side of the warm–cool line is Cool rose #C67B92, a True Summer color, at a distance of 14: close enough to mistake for it on a hanger, far enough to tell apart on a person.
At RGB 158, 92, 107 the red leads, the blue is ahead of the green, and none of the three is far from the others. The blue ahead of the green is what makes it cool. The red being only moderately ahead is what makes it soft rather than bright. Push the red up and lower the blue and it becomes a cool raspberry that belongs to a True Summer; push all three down and it becomes a plum.
A Soft Summer wears it as the color that reads as color: a knit, a dress, a lip. It pairs with cool grey and soft navy for an outfit, with dove taupe for something gentler, and with soft white when the point is the raspberry itself. It sits well next to dusty rose, which is the same hue lighter, and next to slate blue, which is its complement in the palette.
Retailers call it berry, raspberry, wild rose, rosewood, mulberry or dusty berry, and the names are unreliable: most of what sells as berry is either brighter or warmer than this. Hold the garment against a white. Soft cool raspberry looks quiet and a little dusty. A true raspberry looks electric. A warm berry looks brown.
Easily confused with
True Summer's cool rose is fourteen points off and lighter; its soft fuchsia is seventeen off and brighter. Soft Summer's own soft plum is eighteen points deeper and more purple. Dark Autumn's warm burgundy is twenty-two points off and brown-based, and that is the one to watch on a rail: at a distance the two look alike, and on a Soft Summer the Autumn version reads muddy.
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 rose #C67B92
True Summer anchor · ΔE 14
Soft fuchsia #B85C86
True Summer anchor · ΔE 17
Muted plum #6E4A63
True Summer anchor · ΔE 18
Cool raspberry #A63A5B
True Summer anchor · ΔE 19
Warm burgundy #6E2233
Dark Autumn anchor · ΔE 22
Warm dusty rose #C89A93
Soft Autumn anchor · ΔE 25
In stock in this color today
As of November 11, 2026, 6 in-stock pieces across Boden and Marine Layer sample within a close match of #9E5C6B. 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 #9E5C6B today, so they are the words to search for.
- Boden
- Maroon, Pink Heather
- Marine Layer
- Ruby
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 soft cool raspberry a Soft Summer color?
Yes. Soft cool raspberry (#9E5C6B) is an anchor color in the Soft 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.
What is the best red for Soft Summer?
This one. Soft cool raspberry, RGB 158, 92, 107, is the red in the Soft Summer palette. A true red is too bright and too warm for the season, and a burgundy is too dark. Retailers tend to sell the right shade as wild rose, rosewood, raspberry or mulberry.
Can a True Summer wear soft cool raspberry?
Yes. True Summer's cool raspberry is nineteen points brighter, so this one reads a touch muted on a True Summer, but the temperature is right and with soft navy or cool grey it holds.
Is soft cool raspberry the same as burgundy?
No. Burgundy is darker and usually warmer; Dark Autumn's warm burgundy is twenty-two points away and brown-based. Soft cool raspberry is a medium-depth, blue-based red with grey in it. On a Soft Summer, burgundy looks heavy and muddy.
What colors go with soft cool raspberry?
For a Soft Summer: cool grey, soft navy, dove taupe, soft white, dusty rose, slate blue. Avoid black, which makes it look harsh, and warm camel, which pulls it brown.
The Soft Summer guide · All in-stock Soft Summer pieces · ← Greyed aqua · All colors