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Claim offerInspiration in the color cream.
Learn the history and meaning of the color cream, the softest shade of yellow between milk and butter.
How to use the color cream.
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Cream versus beige.
Beige and cream color are not the same. The color cream is the lightest shade of yellow. Beige has a small amount of black mixed in, removing the sense of optimism and leaving it with a sort of silent neutrality.
Combine cream with other colors.
Cream color is the opposite of an accent color like red or coral. Use the color cream as a foundation. Cream is a base that you can adorn. Combine cream color with blue if you want to contrast warm and cool. Combine the color cream with black or charcoal if you want an elegant look.
Cream comes with a layered meaning.
The color cream borrows from the meanings of its source colors, white and yellow. Cream color offers the purity and peace of white. Cream also has the optimism and openness of yellow. Put it together, and cream is a color you can count on.
Relish the versatility of the color cream.
Cream color is like other neutral colors: it’s versatile. Combine the color cream with other neutrals for a highly sophisticated look. In projects with bright reds, greens, or yellows, cream can help the brighter colors pop and make the whole project more pleasant to look at.
Information about cream color.
The cream HEX code picker is #FFFDD0. Cream color is the lightest shade of yellow.
The color cream can be achieved in a RGB space with 255 red, 253 green, and 208 blue. Cream color can be achieved in a CMYK color space with 1% cyan, 0% magenta, 22% yellow, and 0% black.
What is the meaning of the color cream?
Cream color is a familiar and soothing shade of off-white. Cream offsets the coolness of white by blending in a milky yellow. The color cream was inspired by the natural cream that separates from whole milk of grazing cows. The green pasture tints the milk with the faintest yellow, and that yellow gathers in the fluffy cream on top.
The color cream is the lightest shade of yellow. This pastel shade calls both a color and texture to mind.
The history of cream.
The color cream was named from a natural source and describes more than just a hue.
Cream color was named after the natural cream that separates from grazing cow’s milk. The grazing component is important, because cows eat green pasture. The green tints their milk the lightest yellow. Cream also describes any lotion or ointment, which gives the color an associated texture, too. The word “cream” actually comes from the Latin word for ointment.
The first documented use of the color cream in English was in 1590.
The word cream arrived to English from Old French. For a short time, it referred only to ointments or the cream from cow’s milk. As early as 1590, cream color was added to English vernacular. The color cream was often used in Renaissance paintings as a base for skin tones that were then flushed with reds and pinks to add texture and dimension to figures.
The color cream in fashion.
Cream color has been present in fashion since before it had a name. By the 18th century, cream rose in popularity and became a staple of an era. Cream color clothing for women was considered fittingly modest in Victorian times. Cream clothing could tone down the intensity of what little color women dared to display. In the 19th century, cream also became a color of elegance. Today, combining cream and black in formalwear looks more sophisticated than black and white.
The color cream across different cultures.
Cream in Ancient Greece and Rome.
Cream is considered a soft alternative to cold, sterile white. The lush color cream is like an ointment for the eyes. Cream color stirs feelings of comfort. This softness might be, in part, a result of the ties to its namesake dairy cream. For a contrasting view, in ancient Greece and Rome, cream color was the color of institutions. Look to the cream color monuments still standing for stately examples.
The color cream was attractive and practical for a new class of formalwear.
In Britain in the mid-1800s, a shorter jacket for “lounging” was designed for men to replace longer coats. Originally used as outdoor jackets, these were followed by short jackets designed for relaxation indoors. From velvet to silk, and black to blue, smoking jackets evolved to what today we call the tuxedo. Cream color tuxedo jackets contrast beautifully with white shirts underneath and are considered particularly elegant.
Cream in the context of purity.
The color cream is a warm neutral. In color psychology, cream color stands for comfort and humility. Combine these feelings with the age-old association of white with purity, and it’s no surprise that Western bridal gowns are either white or cream color.