Puce Color
Puce is a brown color with hex code #A57E52. This page covers its meaning, all color values, harmonies, colors that go with puce, shades, tints, similar colors, CSS examples, FAQs, and WCAG contrast ratios.
Puce Color Values
What Does Puce Mean?
Puce belongs to the brown family of colors. Brown is earth, wood, and coffee, and it behaves accordingly: grounded, unbothered, dependable. Craft brands, leather goods, and rustic interiors all borrow that steadiness. When brown looks cheap, that's a styling choice rather than the color's fault. Puce sits at a mid-lightness, which keeps it readable on both white and black without much fuss.
In the ISCC-NBS color naming system, Puce is classified as a brown (nearest centroid: light brown, #A67B5B). It is also known as False Puce.
Color Harmonies
Complementary
Analogous
Triadic
Colors That Go With Puce
Puce and #5178A4 are complements, parked opposite each other on the wheel. Together they hit maximum contrast, so a rough 70/30 split keeps the pairing from shouting.
Analogous neighbors — #A45451 and #A1A451, which sit beside puce on the wheel. Pairings like this feel calm and settled, which suits backgrounds and gradients.
For an energetic three-color palette, pair puce with triadic partners #51A47D and #7D51A4. All three sit evenly spaced around the wheel, so the scheme stays lively without clashing.
Build and test these combinations in our Color Wheel Tool or check text readability with the Contrast Checker.
Tints and Shades
Tints (lighter)
Shades (darker)
Similar Colors
- Light Brown —
#AD8150(Delta E 4) - Mocha —
#9D7651(Delta E 5) - Tan Brown —
#AB7E4C(Delta E 5) - Coffee —
#A6814C(Delta E 5) - Limed Oak —
#AC8A56(Delta E 6)
CSS Examples
.text { color: #A57E52; }
.background { background-color: #A57E52; }
.border { border: 2px solid #A57E52; }
.shadow { box-shadow: 0 4px 6px #A57E5240; }WCAG Contrast
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the hex code for puce?
Puce has the hex code #A57E52. In RGB notation it is rgb(165, 126, 82), in HSL it is hsl(32, 34%, 48%), and its OKLCH value is 0.621, 0.077, 69.
What does the color puce mean?
Brown-family colors like puce carry distinct psychological associations. Puce belongs to the brown family of colors. Brown is earth, wood, and coffee, and it behaves accordingly: grounded, unbothered, dependable. Craft brands, leather goods, and rustic interiors all borrow that steadiness. When brown looks cheap, that's a styling choice rather than the color's fault. Puce sits at a mid-lightness, which keeps it readable on both white and black without much fuss.
What colors go with puce?
Puce has three easy routes: its complement #5178A4 for punch, its neighbors #A45451 and #A1A451 for something calmer, or triadic partners #51A47D and #7D51A4 when you want energy.
Is puce a standard web color?
No — Puce is not a CSS keyword. Use its hex value #A57E52 or any RGB/HSL equivalent in your stylesheets.
How do I make puce lighter or darker?
To lighten puce, add white to create tints; to darken it, add black to create shades. The tints and shades table above shows five computed steps of each, from #F0E9E0 (lightest tint) to #1B150D (darkest shade).
About Puce
Puce is classified as a Brown in the ISCC-NBS color naming system, within the Brown hue family. It has alternative names including False Puce. The color is recognized by XKCD, meodai.
Use our Color Converter to convert #A57E52 to any other color format, or explore the Color Wheel to find harmonious color combinations.