Marta Merino Wool Crew Sweater
Honey Yellow
#C89A2B
Mustard
A True Autumn and Dark Autumn color
Mustard
anchor color 3 of 10 in True Autumn · anchor color 4 of 10 in Dark Autumn. Also called Warm Autumn, Deep Autumn in other systems.
By Kathleen Olsen · Updated November 11, 2026
- Hex
- #C89A2B
- RGB
- 200, 154, 43
- HSL
- 42°, 65%, 48%
Mustard is yellow with the sun taken down and a little brown mixed in. It is the yellow that the Autumns own, True Autumn most of all, and the one that makes a clear Spring yellow look like a child's raincoat by comparison. Winters and Summers do not have a yellow this warm anywhere in their palettes.
Where it sits
Mustard is an anchor color in True Autumn and also appears in Dark Autumn. Nothing on the same side of the warm–cool line comes within twenty points of it; the nearest is Camel #C29A5B in Bright Spring at 22. That makes it a clean test. If it suits you, you are in this palette.
Yellow is the color most people say they cannot wear, and most of them are thinking of lemon. Mustard is a different proposition. It has enough brown in it to behave like a neutral, which is why a mustard knit or a mustard coat sits beside denim and brown leather without any effort at all.
The test is simple. Hold the garment against something gold, the metal. If the yellow looks like it belongs to the same family, it is warm enough to be mustard. If it looks greenish or acid, it is a cooler yellow and belongs further toward the Springs, or to nobody.
This hex is seventeen points from True Spring's golden yellow and ten from the True Autumn swatch set. That gap toward Spring is the brown. A True Spring in mustard looks a little dulled; a True Autumn in golden yellow looks a little surprised. The color belongs on the Autumn side of the line.
Easily confused with
Mustard gets confused with ochre, which is the same color with more brown, and with golden yellow, which is the same color with less. Dark Autumn wears mustard as a fourth anchor and can go a shade darker toward ochre. True Spring can borrow it but the palette's own golden yellow does the job better.
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).
Camel #C29A5B
Bright Spring neutral · ΔE 22
Light golden yellow #F7D65A
Light Spring anchor · ΔE 22
Golden yellow #F6C324
True Spring anchor · ΔE 23
Golden yellow #F5C518
Bright Spring anchor · ΔE 25
Camel #B08D57
Soft Autumn anchor · ΔE 27
Golden brown #9C6B34
True Spring neutral · ΔE 29
In stock in this color today
As of November 11, 2026, 4 in-stock pieces across Boden sample within a close match of #C89A2B. 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 #C89A2B today, so they are the words to search for.
- Boden
- Honey Yellow, Golden Rye, Toffee Brown, Olive
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 mustard a True Autumn or Dark Autumn color?
Both. Mustard (#C89A2B) 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.
Can a Spring wear mustard?
True Spring can, as a borrowed warm neutral. It sits seventeen points from the palette's golden yellow, which is the clearer, brighter version. Light Spring and Bright Spring are further off, and the brown in mustard starts to dull them.
Is mustard a neutral?
It behaves like one on an Autumn. The brown in it keeps it from fighting other colors, so it pairs with denim, olive, rust, cream and brown leather without planning. On any other season it is an accent at best.
What is the difference between mustard and ochre?
Brown. Ochre is mustard with the yellow pushed further toward earth. Both are Autumn colors; ochre leans Dark Autumn, mustard leans True Autumn. In a shop the labels are used for either.
Why do yellows look bad on so many people?
Because most yellow in shops is cool or clear, and it reflects onto the skin as a greenish cast. Mustard is warm and muted, so the reflection is golden rather than green. The people who think they cannot wear yellow usually mean they cannot wear lemon.
The True Autumn guide · All in-stock True Autumn pieces · ← Rust · Moss green → · All colors