Showa era
Ivory Buff & Mineral Gray
Plate 11 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Ivory Buff, Mineral Gray.
#ebd3a2
yellow · 16 palettes
Ivory Buff
About Ivory Buff
Ivory Buff is a light, vivid yellow tone. Its hex value is #ebd3a2 — that is
RGB 235, 211, 162, or HSL 40°, 65%, 78%.
It holds 14.4:1 contrast against dark, so Ivory Buff works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 1.5:1; on black 14.4:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Ivory Buff appears in 16 combinations — most often paired with Yellow Orange, Spectrum Red and Rainette Green.
Colours that go with Ivory Buff
From a standard colour wheel, Ivory Buff anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#ebd3a2 #A2BAEB
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#ebd3a2 #EBAEA2 #DFEBA2
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#ebd3a2 #A2EBD3 #D3A2EB
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#ebd3a2 #A2DFEB #AEA2EB
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Ivory Buff
Ivory Buff is a light, vivid tone (HSL 40°, 65%, 78%), which makes it a soft background or a light accent. For text it passes WCAG AA for body text against a dark background (14.4:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use dark lettering. Pair it with its complement (#A2BAEB) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#EBAEA2 and #DFEBA2) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Palettes with Ivory Buff
Ivory Buff appears in 16 combinations from the archive. Each pairing reveals how the same color shifts character depending on its neighbours.
From the archive
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