What color is #85537A?

#85537A is a medium, muted magenta. In RGB it is rgb(133, 83, 122), and in HSL hsl(313, 23%, 42%).

Is #85537A accessible as text?

On white, #85537A has a contrast ratio of 5.97:1 (passes WCAG AA for body text); on black it is 3.52:1 (fails). For text placed on #85537A, use white for the best readability.

What is the closest Tailwind color to #85537A?

The nearest Tailwind CSS token is mauve-500 (#79697B).

What colors go well with #85537A?

#85537A pairs cleanly with neutrals — cream, taupe, charcoal and cool grays — and with its complementary #52845D. In UI, a softer accent is often easier to use than the exact complement. Explore the harmonies, shades, tints and ready-made palettes for #85537A below.

Is #85537A good for buttons?

#85537A works well for buttons and highlights, but use white text on #85537A — black text only reaches 3.52:1, below the 4.5:1 needed for normal-size labels.

Is #85537A the same as CSS dimgray?

No — #85537A is not the CSS named color dimgray, but dimgray (#696969) is the closest CSS named color by perceptual color distance — it sits in a different color family, so treat it as a rough reference, not a match.

#85537A Color — HEX, RGB, HSL, Palette & Shades

Palettes built on #85537A

Not just a swatch — here's how #85537A works with other colors. Named schemes with #85537A in its natural role, and a note on why the supporting colors balance it.

Modern Café Dominant · 5 colors

Dominant #85537A Anchor #3B2922 Surface #F2E2D1 Accent #9C9462 Secondary #3C3833

Plum anchors this café scheme as the warm mid-tone, lifted by latte cream and a muted sage accent and grounded by espresso brown and a warm charcoal.

Vintage Leather Lead · 5 colors

Lead #85537A Secondary #7D472D Surface #ECD8C1 Accent #464F38 Anchor #592233

Plum plays the worn-leather lead, deepened by saddle brown and an oxblood anchor, softened by aged cream and cooled by a muted forest green.

Berry & Cream Lead · 5 colors

Lead #85537A Surface #F4E6D7 Anchor #5D203C Accent #E6C2C5 Secondary #332B2E

Plum sits between cream and a deep berry here, softened by a blush accent and grounded by charcoal.

Japanese Sand Base · 5 colors

Base #85537A Surface #F1E8DC Highlight #F7F0E7 Secondary #BCADA0 Ink #2B2723

Plum sets a calm, sun-bleached base here, wrapped in bone and paper off-whites and a soft greige, with a single ink accent for wabi-sabi restraint.

Minimal Editorial Surface · 5 colors

Surface #F7F4EF Accent #85537A Secondary #9C8997 Support #9C9087 Ink #18140F

Plum is the single accent in this high-contrast editorial system — set on near-white paper against near-black ink, with a warm grey and a desaturated tint of Plum carrying the quiet middle.

Build a working theme in the generator →

Color Lab

How #85537A actually behaves in design work — read from its OKLCH lightness, chroma and hue, not just its raw numbers. Ten signals to help you decide where this color earns its place.

Warmth 57/100

Neutral

Balanced temperature — flexible, sits between warm and cool schemes.

Softness 45/100

Moderate

Middle-weight — neither delicate nor heavy.

Depth 48/100

Moderate

Mid depth — usable as an accent or a muted ground.

Naturalness 5/100

Very low

Reads engineered rather than organic — synthetic, digital.

Vintage feel 79/100

High

Faded, nostalgic quality — editorial, heritage and retro work.

Luxury 55/100

Moderate

Understated — leans refined without going austere.

Brand distinctiveness 23/100

Low

Quiet and neutral — a supporting tone, not a signature.

UI accent fit 88/100

Very high

Strong interactive accent — visible and can carry a legible label.

Surface fit 28/100

Low

Too saturated or mid-toned for big areas — keep it to accents.

Print safety 91/100

Very high

Reproduces faithfully in CMYK — safe for packaging and print.

Pairs with #85537A

For UI

For branding

For interior

For fashion

People also use #85537A with

Very Peri Mauve Taupe Viridian Gainsboro Eggplant

UI roles & guardrails

Primary action Safe as a filled button with white label. AA

Body text Passes on white at 16px and above. Pass

Large display Fine for headings 24px+ on white. Pass

Background Pair with white text at 6.0:1. Use

Subtle surface Use #E6DDE4 for cards and hover fills. Tint 80

Avoid beside #845269 — the hue gap is too small to read as intentional. Clash

In real applications

Not a swatch to memorise — a color to build with. Here is #85537A at work across the surfaces designers actually ship.

Website / UI

Northwind Sign up

Build faster.

A working theme, generated in seconds.

Dashboard

Revenue

$48.2k ▲ 12%

Brand

AVELINE

Studio

Poster

Nov 14 · 8PM

NIGHT
MARKET

Packaging

BLOOM

Botanical Wash

250 ml

Interior

Every model

Export

:root {
  --color-base: #85537A;
  --color-base-rgb: 133 83 122;
  --color-base-oklch: oklch(51.2% 0.086 335.2);
  --color-50: #F9F5F8;
  --color-100: #F0E6ED;
  --color-200: #E0CDDB;
  --color-300: #C6A9C0;
  --color-400: #AC86A4;
  --color-500: #8F6686;
  --color-600: #6F5369;
  --color-700: #513E4D;
  --color-800: #362B34;
  --color-900: #221B20;
  --color-on-base: #FFFFFF;
}

// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
  plum: {
    50: '#F9F5F8',
    100: '#F0E6ED',
    200: '#E0CDDB',
    300: '#C6A9C0',
    400: '#AC86A4',
    500: '#8F6686',
    600: '#6F5369',
    700: '#513E4D',
    800: '#362B34',
    900: '#221B20',
  },
}

$base: #85537A;
$base-ink: #FFFFFF;
$base-50: #F9F5F8;
$base-100: #F0E6ED;
$base-200: #E0CDDB;
$base-300: #C6A9C0;
$base-400: #AC86A4;
$base-500: #8F6686;
$base-600: #6F5369;
$base-700: #513E4D;
$base-800: #362B34;
$base-900: #221B20;
$base-hover: #694261;
$base-subtle: #DACBD7;

{
    "color": {
        "base": {
            "value": "#85537A",
            "type": "color"
        },
        "onBase": {
            "value": "#FFFFFF",
            "type": "color"
        },
        "scale": {
            "50": {
                "value": "#F9F5F8",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "100": {
                "value": "#F0E6ED",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "200": {
                "value": "#E0CDDB",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "300": {
                "value": "#C6A9C0",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "400": {
                "value": "#AC86A4",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "500": {
                "value": "#8F6686",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "600": {
                "value": "#6F5369",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "700": {
                "value": "#513E4D",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "800": {
                "value": "#362B34",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "900": {
                "value": "#221B20",
                "type": "color"
            }
        }
    }
}

Palettes built on #85537A

Color Lab

Pairs with #85537A

UI roles & guardrails

In real applications

Scales

Every model

Export