#C9A0DC
Purple family

Wisteria

Also known as: delicate · ethereal · romantic · soft · graceful
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Hex #C9A0DC
RGB rgb(201, 160, 220)
HSL hsl(281°, 46%, 75%)
CMYK 9 · 27 · 0 · 14

Meaning

In Western cultures, wisteria symbolizes grace and elegance, often used in weddings and celebrations to represent love and harmony. However, in some Asian cultures, the flower can also signify longing and a deeper emotional connection, contrasting its lighter connotations in the West.

The term 'wisteria' is derived from American botanist Caspar Wistar in the 19th century, who was known for his work on the plant's taxonomy. The color gained popularity in the late 20th century as pastel colors became fashionable in interior design and fashion.

delicateetherealromanticsoftgraceful

Similar colors

Ranked by CIE76 ΔE — the perceptual distance from Wisteria. Lower ΔE means a closer match (below ~2 is barely distinguishable).

All 31 Purples →

Shades & tints

Nine steps of Wisteria by lightness — from #695372 (darkest) to #E3CEED (lightest). Click any to copy.

-40% #695372
-30% #81668D
-20% #997AA7
-10% #B18DC2
BASE #C9A0DC
+15% #CFABE0
+30% #D6B7E4
+50% #DCC2E9
+70% #E3CEED

Complementary

Sitting opposite Wisteria at 101° on the color wheel, these give the highest-contrast pairings.

Palettes

Curated 5-color combinations featuring Wisteria.

#C9A0DC
#F5F5F5
#888888
#A3D9B5
#FFB3BA

Spring Awakening

Fresh Bloom
#C9A0DC
#2C2C2C
#F0E5D8
#6B5B8A
#B2A2C6

Elegant Twilight

Calm Serenity
#C9A0DC
#FFFFFF
#B8B3D1
#D9C2E1
#E6B7C1

Vintage Charm

Classic Romance

Wisteria scale

A 50–900 tonal scale with Wisteria anchored at 500 — ready to drop into a design system. Click any step to copy.

50 #FBF7FC
100 #F5EEF9
200 #EADBF2
300 #E0C8EB
400 #D4B4E3
500 #C9A0DC
600 #A583B4
700 #856A91
800 #65506E
900 #44364B

Accessibility

Works well as text on dark backgrounds; fails on light.

Aa Best text color: #000000 · 9.55:1
Wisteria as text on… Ratio AA AAA
Aa White background 2.2:1 Fail Fail
Aa Black background 9.55:1 Pass Pass

Thresholds: AA needs 4.5:1 (normal text) / 3:1 (large); AAA needs 7:1 / 4.5:1. Large = 18pt+ or 14pt+ bold.

How to use #C9A0DC

Copy-ready values for CSS, screen and print, plus the extra conversions designers reach for.

CSS color: #C9A0DC;
CSS color-mix (lighten 30%) color-mix(in srgb, #C9A0DC 70%, white)
HSV / HSB 281°, 27%, 86%
CMYK (print) 9, 27, 0, 14
Decimal 13213916
Nearest web-safe #CC99CC

Color vision

How Wisteria appears to viewers with the three main types of color blindness (~1 in 12 men, 1 in 200 women). Simulated approximations.

Normal vision

#C9A0DC

Protanopia (no red)

#B7B7CD

Deuteranopia (no green)

#BABDCA

Tritanopia (no blue)

#C7C2C0
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