Lea Poplin Mini Skirt
Blush
#FF6F5E
Bright coral
A Bright Spring color
anchor color 9 of 10 in Bright Spring. Also called Clear Spring in other systems.
By Kathleen Olsen · Updated November 11, 2026
Bright coral is the Bright Spring signature: a pink-orange at full volume, warm and clear, the color that does for Bright Spring what hot pink does for Bright Winter. It is the single most reliable test of the season, since it glows on a Bright Spring and goes orange on everyone cool.
Bright coral is an anchor color in Bright Spring. Its closest relative outside the palette is Coral #FF7855, a True Spring color, at a perceptual distance of 8. That is near enough for that season to wear it as a neutral, with the accents kept in its own palette.
At RGB 255, 111, 94 the red is at the top, the green and blue are close to each other and well behind it. The green being a touch ahead of the blue is what makes it coral rather than pink. The red being maxed out is what makes it bright. Push the blue up and it turns into a hot pink that belongs to Bright Winter; pull the red down and add grey and it becomes the dusty terracotta that belongs to Soft Autumn.
A Bright Spring wears it as the color that reads as color: a dress, a knit, a lip, a coat in spring. It pairs with warm navy and bright white as the frame, with warm turquoise for the pairing that is the season's signature, and with camel when the point is the coral. It sits well next to golden yellow because the two share their warmth, and next to warm bright green as a complement.
Retailers call it coral, bright coral, flamingo, papaya, watermelon, hot coral or sunset, and the names are unreliable: most of what sells as coral is either pinker or paler than this. Hold the garment against a white. Bright coral looks warm and faintly orange. A hot pink looks purple at the edges and belongs to Bright Winter. A salmon looks pale and belongs to Light Spring.
Bright Spring's own coral red is seven points away and a touch redder; True Spring's coral is eight points off and a touch more orange, so the three are close to one color on a rail. Light Spring's warm coral is seventeen points off and paler. True Spring's warm tomato red is eighteen points off and reads as a red rather than a coral. Bright Winter's hot pink is the one to watch: the two are sold under the same names, and on a Bright Spring the Winter version reads cold and harsh.
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).
Coral #FF7855
True Spring anchor · ΔE 8
Warm coral #FA8E76
Light Spring anchor · ΔE 17
Warm coral pink #F98A7E
True Spring anchor · ΔE 18
Warm tomato red #E8452E
True Spring anchor · ΔE 18
Burnt sienna #C4532A
True Autumn anchor · ΔE 20
Terracotta #C46A45
Dark Autumn anchor · ΔE 23
As of November 11, 2026, 1 in-stock piece across Marine Layer sample within a close match of #FF6F5E. 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.
Retailers almost never use the palette name. These are the color names on the in-stock pieces that sample within a close match of #FF6F5E today, so they are the words to search for.
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.
Yes. Bright coral (#FF6F5E) is an anchor color in the Bright Spring palette, and close enough to a True Spring color for that season to wear it as a neutral.
No, and the difference is the clearest test between Bright Spring and Bright Winter. Bright coral has green ahead of blue, which makes it warm; hot pink has blue ahead of green, which makes it cool. Hold both to the jaw in daylight: coral lights a Bright Spring and goes orange on a Bright Winter; hot pink lights a Bright Winter and goes harsh on a Bright Spring.
Yes. True Spring's coral is eight points away and a touch more orange, and both are warm and clear. Bright coral reads a hair louder on a True Spring than the season's own version, but with cream or warm navy it holds. It is one of the colors the two seasons buy interchangeably.
For a Bright Spring: warm navy, bright white, camel, warm turquoise, golden yellow, warm bright green and warm espresso. Coral with turquoise is the season's signature pairing. Avoid black, which makes it look cheap, and cool grey, which makes it look orange.
At a push. Light Spring's warm coral is seventeen points paler, and bright coral at full volume tends to wear a Light Spring rather than the other way around. It works as a lip or a scarf; as a dress it is usually too much. The Light Spring version, or clear salmon, does the same job at the right volume.
The Bright Spring guide · All in-stock Bright Spring pieces · ← Warm fuchsia · Warm bright green → · All colors