Soft Autumn vs True Autumn
The deciding axis is undertone: Soft Autumn is the cool one and True Autumn is the warm one.
Side by side
The deciding axis is undertone — everything else about these two is close.
Soft Autumn
moderately warm, medium in depth and strongly soft
True Autumn
strongly warm, medium in depth and moderately soft
The test that settles it
Do this in daylight, with no makeup, looking at your skin rather than at the fabric.
Soft Autumn: Salmon #D98A76
True Autumn: Rust #C1440E
Hold each colour under your chin in turn. The right one settles your skin — shadows under the eyes recede and the face looks rested. The wrong one pulls those shadows forward and adds a grey or sallow cast. If you cannot see a difference, you are probably between the two, which is common and covered below.
Soft Autumn palette
- Salmon#D98A76
- Soft terracotta#C4705C
- Muted rust#B5654A
- Warm rose beige#C98F7A
- Dusty brick#B07C7C
- Soft mulberry#A86F7E
- Warm mushroom#8E7C6E
- Soft gold#C4A76A
- Wheat#D6BC7E
- Moss gold#A89B5C
True Autumn palette
- Rust#C1440E
- Pumpkin#D2691E
- Burnt orange#B7410E
- Sienna#A0522D
- Brick red#8B3A2E
- Mustard#B8860B
- Goldenrod#DAA520
- Antique gold#C9A227
- Olive#808000
- Moss green#6B8E23
Frequently asked
What is the difference between Soft Autumn and True Autumn?
The deciding axis is undertone: Soft Autumn is the cool one and True Autumn is the warm one. Soft Autumn is moderately warm, medium in depth and strongly soft; True Autumn is strongly warm, medium in depth and moderately soft. Everything else about them is close enough that the wrong call still looks acceptable — which is precisely why so many people sit between the two.
How do I tell whether I am Soft Autumn or True Autumn?
Test the deciding axis in isolation. Put salmon (#D98A76) beside rust (#C1440E) against your bare face in daylight, and look at the skin under your eyes and around your mouth rather than at the fabric. One of them will settle your skin and the other will pull shadows forward.
What if both palettes look fine on me?
Then you are genuinely in between, and you should take the overlap. Wear the colours that appear in both palettes as your core wardrobe, and treat each season's extremes as occasional. Being between two neighbouring seasons is common and is not a failure of the system — it is what the boundaries look like from close up.
Which is more common, Soft Autumn or True Autumn?
Neither is rare. Judging by search interest, Soft Autumn is looked up more often — but that reflects how often people are told they might be one, not how many actually are.