Puce

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Puce
 
About these coordinates     Color coordinates
Hex triplet#CC8899
sRGBB (r, g, b)(204, 136, 153)
HSV (h, s, v)(345°, 33%, 80%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(64, 43, 356°)
Source99colors.net
ISCC–NBS descriptorDark pink
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Puce is a brownish purple color. The term comes from the French couleur puce, literally meaning "flea color".[1]

Puce became popular in the late 18th century in France. It appeared in clothing at the court of Louis XVI, and was said to be a favorite color of Marie Antoinette, though there are no portraits of her wearing it.[2][3][4]

Puce was also a popular fashion color in 19th-century Paris. In one of his novels, Émile Zola describes a woman "dressed in a dark gown of an equivocal color, somewhere between puce and goose shit."[5] In Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, Mademoiselle Baptistine wears "a gown of puce-colored silk, of the fashion of 1806, which she had purchased at that date in Paris, and which had lasted ever since."[6]

Variations of puce[edit]

Puce (ISCC-NBS)[edit]

Puce (ISCC-NBS)
 
About these coordinates     Color coordinates
Hex triplet#722F37
sRGBB (r, g, b)(114, 47, 55)
HSV (h, s, v)(353°, 59%, 45%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(29, 45, 7°)
SourceISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptorDark red
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

The color to the right is the color called puce in the ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Color Names (1955). Since this color has a hue code of 353, it is a slightly purplish red.

Puce (Maerz and Paul)[edit]

Puce (M&P)
 
About these coordinates     Color coordinates
Hex triplet#A95C68
sRGBB (r, g, b)(169, 92, 104)
HSV (h, s, v)(351°, 46%, 66%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(48, 51, 4°)
SourceMaerz and Paul
ISCC–NBS descriptorModerate red
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

The color box to the right shows the color called puce in the 1930 book by Maerz and Paul, A Dictionary of Color;[7] the color puce is displayed on page 37, Plate 7, Color Sample H4.

Puce (Pourpre color list)[edit]

Puce (Pourpre color list)
 
About these coordinates     Color coordinates
Hex triplet#4E1609
sRGBB (r, g, b)(78, 22, 9)
HSV (h, s, v)(11°, 88%, 31%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(17, 38, 18°)
SourcePourpre.com
ISCC–NBS descriptorDeep brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

At right is the color called puce in the Pourpre.com color list, a color list widely popular in France. This is the original puce, from which all other tones of puce ultimately derive.[citation needed]

Puce (Pantone)[edit]

Puce (Pantone)
 
About these coordinates     Color coordinates
Hex triplet#4F3A3C
sRGBB (r, g, b)(79, 58, 60)
HSV (h, s, v)(354°, 27%, 31%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(27, 12, 6°)
SourcePantone TPX[8]
ISCC–NBS descriptorDark grayish reddish brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

The color at right is called puce in the Pantone color list.

The source of this color is the "Pantone Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color #19-1518 TPX—Puce.[9]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "puce". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/OED/3451789277. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  2. ^ St. Clair, Kassia (2017-10-24). The Secret Lives of Color. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-5247-0494-0.
  3. ^ Kelleher, Katy (2017-10-24). "The Sexy-Gross Story of Puce". The Awl. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  4. ^ Under The Moonlight (2020-07-14). "Puce Was Once The Height Of 18th Century French Fashion For A Second". Under The Moonlight. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  5. ^ Zola, Émile (1880). Nana. Paris: G. Charpentier. p. 45. Vêtue d'une robe sombre de couleur indécise, entre le puce et le caca d'oie.
  6. ^ Hugo, Victor (1887). Les Misérables. Translated by Hapgood, Isabel F. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell. p. 67.
  7. ^ Maerz and Paul (1930). A Dictionary of Color. New York: McGraw-Hill.
  8. ^ Type the word "Puce" into the indicated window on the Pantone Color Finder and the color appears.
  9. ^ Pantone TPX Pantone Color Finder--Type the word "Puce" into the indicated window on the Pantone Color Finder and the color appears: