Skip to content

Denim #1560bd

The most-worn color on Earth.

RGB
21, 96, 189
HSL
213°, 80%, 41%
CMYK
89, 49, 0, 26
Luminance
0.1220

About Denim

Denim, #1560bd, is indigo woven into work — the blue of the most ubiquitous garment ever made. Statistically it is the color humanity wears most: on any given day, half the planet has denim on.

History

Serge de Nîmes — fabric “from Nîmes” — gave the name; Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis’s 1873 riveted jeans gave the destiny. Indigo dye sits only on the yarn’s surface, which is why denim fades personally — every pair becomes a diary.

Psychology

Denim reads honest, democratic and effortless — the color of work that became the color of leisure. It is blue with its collar rolled: trustworthy without a tie.

In design

Denim blues (#1560bd to washed #6f8faf) anchor casual, youth and heritage-workwear branding. They pair with tan and leather browns (the jacket’s own hardware palette), white tees, mustard and red bandana accents. Washed denims make superb muted UI backgrounds.

In culture

Double denim, denim diplomacy, the Canadian tuxedo: no fabric carries more social history — miners’ armor to James Dean’s rebellion to everyone’s Friday.

Brands that own denim

Shades of denim

Every format

HEX#1560bd
RGBrgb(21, 96, 189)
HSLhsl(213, 80%, 41%)
CMYKcmyk(89%, 49%, 0%, 26%)
LABlab(41.5 14.0 -54.9)
LCHlch(41.5 56.6 284.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.500 0.162 256.9)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #1560bd;
background-color: #1560bd;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#1560bd] bg-[#1560bd]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #1560bd;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.082, green: 0.376, blue: 0.741)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#1560bd")

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#1560bd on white: 6.10:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#1560bd on black: 3.44:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia
deuteranopia
tritanopia

RGB percentages

Red8.2%
Green37.6%
Blue74.1%

CMYK percentages

Cyan88.9%
Magenta49.2%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)25.9%

Color previews

#1560bd text on a black background

contrast 3.44:1

Card sample

#1560bd text on a white background

contrast 6.10:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #1560bd;
Background color
Panel with #1560bd background
background-color: #1560bd;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #1560bd;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(21, 96, 189, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(21, 96, 189, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #1560bd;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #1560bd, #3A15BD);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #1560bd

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Hue & tone neighbors

Color harmonies

Nearest named colors

Denim, answered

What is the hex code for denim?

Denim blue is #1560bd; raw selvedge runs darker (#15357a), washed and chambray lighter (#6f8faf, #9bb7d4).

Why does denim fade uniquely?

Indigo bonds only to the yarn surface (ring dyeing). Wear abrades the surface, exposing white core — so creases, pockets and habits print themselves into the fabric.

What colors pair with denim?

Tan and saddle leather (the jacket’s own palette), white, mustard, bandana red and gray marle — workwear’s complete wardrobe.

Work with #1560bd in the Color Lab