Taupe

This article is about a color. For the hairpiece or partial wig of natural or synthetic hair worn to cover partial baldness or for theatrical purposes, see Toupée.

Taupe ( /ˈtoʊp/ TOHP) is a dark gray-brown color. The word derives from the French noun taupe meaning "mole". The name originally referred only to the average color of the French mole, but beginning in the 1940s, its usage expanded to encompass a wider range of shades.^[1]

Taupe
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#483C32
sRGBB (r, g, b)	(72, 60, 50)
HSV (h, s, v)	(27°, 31%, 28%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(26, 11, 47°)
Source	ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Dark grayish brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Taupe is a vague color term which may refer to almost any grayish brown or brownish gray, but true taupe is difficult to pinpoint as brown or gray.^[1]

According to the Dictionary of Color, the first use of "taupe" as a color name in English was in the early 19th century; but the earliest citation recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1911. In 1846 it was claimed that "All shades of grey are fashionable en neglige, particularly pearl grey, iron grey, and taupe."^[2][3]

Description

Taupe (#483C32)
#483C32

A mole

Taupe colors fall into a range from dark tan to grayish brown or brownish gray. The word derives from the French noun taupe, which in turn is from the Latin talpa, both meaning "mole" (the mammal).^[4] The name originally referred only to the average color of the French mole,^[5] but (as in the case of the colors pink and lavender), beginning in the 1940s, its usage expanded to encompass a wider range of shades.

Taupe is a vague color term which may refer to almost any grayish-brown, brownish-gray, or warm gray color. It often overlaps with tan and even people who use color professionally (such as designers and artists) frequently disagree as to what "taupe" means. Taupe itself, however, is not directly correlated with such colors as purple or pink. There is no single, generally recognized authority for such terms, but the addition of such colors can create a wider variety of shades which can benefit either art.

When viewed on a precisely calibrated monitor, the color displayed adjacent matches the color sample called taupe referenced in the 1930 book A Dictionary of Color, the world standard for color terms before the invention of computers. However, the word taupe may often be used to refer to lighter shades of taupe today, and therefore another name for this color is dark taupe.

According to the Dictionary of Color, the first use of "taupe" as a color name in English was in the early 19th century;^[6] but the earliest citation recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1911.^[7]

The normalized color coordinates for taupe are identical to dark lava, which was formalized as a color name in the ISCC–NBS system in 1955.^[8]

Variations of taupe

Pale taupe (mouse)

The first recorded use of mouse as a color name in English was in 1606.^[9]

Light taupe

Light Taupe
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#B38B6D
sRGBB (r, g, b)	(179, 139, 109)
HSV (h, s, v)	(26°, 39%, 70%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(61, 39, 43°)
Source	Crayola
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Light brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Light taupe (dark tan) is the light tone of taupe that is the color called taupe in Crayola colored pencils.

Mauve taupe

Main article: Mauve

Mauve Taupe
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#915F6D
sRGBB (r, g, b)	(145, 95, 109)
HSV (h, s, v)	(343°, 34%, 57%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(46, 31, 354°)
Source	ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Grayish purplish red
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Adjacent is displayed the color mauve taupe.

The first recorded use of mauve taupe as a color name in English was in 1925.^[10]

The normalized color coordinates for mauve taupe are identical to raspberry glacé, first recorded as a color name in English in 1926.^[11]

Rose taupe

Rose Taupe
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#905D5D
sRGBB (r, g, b)	(144, 93, 93)
HSV (h, s, v)	(0°, 35%, 56%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(45, 34, 12°)
Source	ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Grayish red
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

The color displayed adjacent is rose taupe.

The first recorded use of rose taupe as a color name in English was in 1924.^[12]

Sandy taupe

Sandy Taupe
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#967117
sRGBB (r, g, b)	(150, 113, 23)
HSV (h, s, v)	(43°, 85%, 59%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(50, 58, 58°)
Source	ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Moderate olive brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Adjacent is displayed the color sandy taupe.

This color is also called taupe sand.

Taupe gray

Taupe Gray
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#8B8589
sRGBB (r, g, b)	(139, 133, 137)
HSV (h, s, v)	(320°, 4%, 55%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(56, 4, 323°)
Source	ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Medium gray
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Displayed adjacent is the color taupe gray.

Deep taupe

Deep Taupe
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#7E5E60
sRGBB (r, g, b)	(126, 94, 96)
HSV (h, s, v)	(356°, 25%, 49%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(43, 20, 8°)
Source	Pantone TPX[13]
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Grayish red
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

The color deep taupe is displayed adjacent.

The source of this color is the "Pantone Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color #18-1612 TPX—Deep Taupe.^[14]

Taupe brown

Taupe Brown
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#674C47
sRGBB (r, g, b)	(103, 76, 71)
HSV (h, s, v)	(9°, 31%, 40%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(35, 19, 22°)
Source	ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Grayish reddish brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

The color taupe brown is a very dark shade of tan that almost appears brown and is displayed adjacent.

This is the color shown as the color taupe brown in ISCC-NBS color sample #46.

Taupe Beige

Taupe Beige
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#927C66
sRGBB (r, g, b)	(146, 124, 102)
HSV (h, s, v)	(30°, 30%, 57%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(53, 24, 51°)
Source	ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Grayish reddish brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

The color Taupe Beige color offers a palette of natural and warm colours.

This is the color shown as the color taupe brown in ISCC-NBS color sample #46.

Another name for this color is medium taupe.

See also

• List of colors

References

1. St. Clair, Kassia (2016). The Secret Lives of Colour. London: John Murray. pp. 256–257. ISBN 9781473630819. OCLC 936144129.
2. "Fashions for January". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. Vol. IV, no. 196. New South Wales. 20 May 1846. p. 3. Retrieved 8 June 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
3. "Theatricals". The Australian. Vol. III, no. 492. New South Wales. 21 May 1846. p. 3. Retrieved 8 June 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
4. "taupe". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) (subscription required)
5. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York: 1930 McGraw-Hill p. 205; Discussion of Color Taupe, p. 183.
6. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill p. 205; Discussion of Color Taupe, p. 183; Color Sample of Taupe: p. 55 Plate 16 Color Sample A6
7. Oxford English Dictionary; citing the Daily Colonist of Victoria, British Columbia, dated 5 April 1911.
8. "ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Colo(u)r Names (1955)". tx4.us. Archived from the original on 2012-11-22. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
9. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill p. 199; Color Sample of Mouse: p. 53 Plate 15 Color Sample C6
10. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill p. 203; Color Sample of Mauve Taupe p. 37 Plate 7 Color Sample C8
11. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill p. 202; color sample of Raspberry Glacé: p. 31 Plate 4 Color Sample F4
12. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill p. 203; Color Sample of Rose Taupe p. 55 Plate 16 Color Sample A4
13. Type the words "Deep Taupe" into the indicated window on the Pantone Color Finder and the color will appear.
14. Pantone. "Find a Pantone Color – Quick Online Color Tool". www.pantone.com.

External links

• ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Color Names (1955) Archived 2017-10-18 at the Wayback Machine—Color dictionary used by stamp collectors to identify the colors of stamps—see samples of the various tones of taupe displayed on the indicated page.
• "Learn What Taupe Color is and How You Should Actually Use It", Architect Anton Giuroiu Archived 2020-09-18 at the Wayback Machine, Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism, Bucharest, Romania
• Taupe Color Chart and Color Codes