#B7410E
Rust
A True Autumn and Dark Autumn color
anchor color 2 of 10 in True Autumn · anchor color 2 of 10 in Dark Autumn. Also called Warm Autumn, Deep Autumn in other systems.
By Kathleen Olsen · Updated November 11, 2026
Rust is red-orange with the brightness burned off, the color of iron left out in the rain. It is the signature accent of True Autumn and sits in Dark Autumn too, a shade heavier there. Bright Spring's coral is the warm red that is not rust. Any cool red is not even close.
Rust is an anchor color in True Autumn and also appears in Dark Autumn. The nearest color on the same side of the warm–cool line is Warm tomato red #E8452E, a True Spring color, at a distance of 18: close enough to mistake for it on a hanger, far enough to tell apart on a person.
Retailers sell rust every autumn under a dozen names: brick, cinnamon, paprika, copper, sienna. The useful test is the orange. Rust has enough orange in it that beside a cool red it looks brown, and enough red that beside a true orange it looks dark. If a garment passes both tests it is in this family.
On a True Autumn rust does what bright red does on a Winter, which is wake the face up, and it does it without fighting the skin. It works alone as a coat or a knit, and it works with the palette's browns and olives, which is where most people's rust actually ends up. The one pairing to be careful of is rust with black, which drains the orange out of it.
Rust sits nine points from burnt sienna and thirteen from terracotta, and the three get swapped freely in shops. Burnt sienna is lighter and a touch more orange, terracotta lighter again with more pink. Rust is the darkest and reddest of the three, and the one that survives in a dark room.
The nearest neighbour is burnt sienna, which is this color with more light in it and belongs to True Autumn alone. Dark Autumn's own burnt orange sits fifteen points away and is browner. A Soft Autumn can wear rust, but the soft rust in that palette is greyer and a safer bet. Rust on a Winter looks like a rusty Winter.
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).
Warm tomato red #E8452E
True Spring anchor · ΔE 18
Clear orange #F26B21
Bright Spring anchor · ΔE 20
Coral red #F25C4A
Bright Spring anchor · ΔE 21
Coral #FF7855
True Spring anchor · ΔE 23
Bright coral #FF6F5E
Bright Spring anchor · ΔE 26
True red #E0102B
True Winter and Bright Winter anchor · ΔE 27
As of November 11, 2026, nothing in stock samples close to #B7410E. The guide below has the nearest colors that do. 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.
Both. Rust (#B7410E) is an anchor color in the True Autumn and Dark Autumn palettes. 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.
Carefully. Soft Autumn is twenty points from this rust, and the palette has its own soft rust, which is the same hue with grey mixed in. The full-strength version will read a little loud next to muted skin. Wear it away from the face or in a smaller piece.
No, though shops use the names interchangeably. Terracotta is lighter and pinker, closer to a clay pot. Rust is darker and redder. Thirteen points apart, which is visible on a hanger.
For an Autumn, the palette's browns and olives, camel, cream, and warm teal if you want a contrast. Rust with black goes flat. Rust with navy only works if the navy is warm.
Because on a cool-toned person the orange in rust has nothing in the skin to answer it, so the eye reads the color as a muddy brown. On a warm-toned person the same orange reads as warmth. Same garment, different face.
The True Autumn guide · All in-stock True Autumn pieces · ← Pumpkin · Mustard → · All colors