Phare Silk Maxi Dress
Koi
#C4532A
Burnt sienna
A True Autumn color
Burnt sienna
anchor color 8 of 10 in True Autumn. Also called Warm Autumn in other systems.
By Kathleen Olsen · Updated November 11, 2026
- Hex
- #C4532A
- RGB
- 196, 83, 42
- HSL
- 16°, 65%, 47%
Burnt sienna is the True Autumn red-orange: a rich, earthy orange-red that sits between rust and terracotta. It is seven points from True Autumn's own terracotta and nine from the rust it shares with Dark Autumn, so it belongs to a close family of warm reds that the two seasons trade freely.
Where it sits
Burnt sienna is an anchor color in True Autumn. Its closest relative outside the palette is Rust #B7410E, a Dark Autumn color, at a perceptual distance of 9. That is near enough for that season to wear it as a neutral, with the accents kept in its own palette.
At RGB 196, 83, 42 the red leads by a long way, the green is low and the blue lower. The big gap is the saturation. The green sitting above the blue pulls the red toward orange. It is the color of the pigment it is named for, or of a clay roof at sunset. Add yellow and it becomes pumpkin; darken it and it becomes rust.
A True Autumn wears it as a statement: a knit, a dress, a coat, a scarf. It is as close as the palette comes to red, and it does what red does for other seasons. It works with warm cream, golden tan and dark chocolate, and it pairs well with warm teal and moss green.
Retail calls it burnt sienna, paprika, burnt orange, spice and koi. STAUD's Koi has landed on it. Fall is when it is in stores. The versions to avoid are the clear coral-reds, which belong to the Springs, and the blue-leaning brick reds.
Easily confused with
The nearest colors are True Autumn's own terracotta at seven points and the rust shared with Dark Autumn at nine; all three pass for one another. Dark Autumn's burnt orange is eleven points off and browner, and True Autumn's pumpkin thirteen and more orange. The Spring corals look related but are seventeen to nineteen points away and much clearer: Bright Spring's coral red and True Spring's coral. On a Spring, burnt sienna looks heavy; on an Autumn, coral looks thin.
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).
Rust #B7410E
Dark Autumn anchor · ΔE 9
Burnt orange #A8501E
Dark Autumn anchor · ΔE 11
Terracotta #C46A45
Dark Autumn anchor · ΔE 14
Coral red #F25C4A
Bright Spring anchor · ΔE 17
Coral #FF7855
True Spring anchor · ΔE 18
Warm tomato red #E8452E
True Spring anchor · ΔE 19
In stock in this color today
As of November 11, 2026, 5 in-stock pieces across Boden, STAUD and Frank & Eileen sample within a close match of #C4532A. 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 #C4532A today, so they are the words to search for.
- Boden
- Spiced Ginger, Cognac
- STAUD
- Koi
- Frank & Eileen
- Clay
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 burnt sienna a True Autumn color?
Yes. Burnt sienna (#C4532A) is an anchor color in the True Autumn palette, and close enough to a Dark Autumn color for that season to wear it as a neutral.
Is burnt sienna the same as rust?
Close. Rust is nine points away, darker and a little browner. Burnt sienna is brighter and redder. Both are True Autumn anchors and they can be worn interchangeably.
Can a Dark Autumn wear burnt sienna?
Yes. Dark Autumn shares the rust at nine points and has a burnt orange at eleven. On a Dark Autumn burnt sienna reads a shade bright, and it works well with her espresso and deep teal.
What colors go with burnt sienna?
For a True Autumn: warm cream, golden tan, dark chocolate, warm teal, moss green, mustard and golden brown. Sienna with warm teal is the pairing to try first. Avoid black, which turns it Halloween, and pink, which clashes.
Is burnt sienna a red or an orange?
A red-orange. The red leads strongly and there is enough yellow to pull it off true red. For a True Autumn it is the best stand-in for red, since blue-reds and clear reds both miss.
The True Autumn guide · All in-stock True Autumn pieces · ← Golden brown · Warm olive → · All colors