As we do every year, we at Pantone spent the last months sorting through a storm of swatches — literally every color perceivable by the human eye — to name the color of the year, the hue that captures the aesthetic zeitgeist. The 2026 Color of the Year is Cloud Dancer, “A whisper of tranquility and peace in a noisy world.” And honestly, we thought we nailed it. Because it’s white and that’s a bold choice. Like, beat it Eggshell, there’s a new, even more neutral sheriff in town.
But evidently not everyone is feeling “a lofty white that serves as a symbol of calming influence in a society rediscovering the value of quiet reflection.” Some of you are a little more stressed. Or maybe the name isn’t descriptive enough for you. So we’re releasing the names we tossed around, hoping one encapsulates the color and the moment.
White Collar Crime
Nonfat Cream Cheese
Timothée Chalamet’s Real Tooth Color
Grout
Vanishing Health Insurance
Vape Cloud
ICE Detention Center Bathroom Stall
Cauliflower Rice
Shortening
Melting Glacier
Papal Smoke
J.D. Vance’s Next Wife
Boiled Flour
Plastic Explosive
Are These Dishes Clean?
Unscented
Bloodless Coup
Death of a Sourdough Starter
Gluten
Diddy
Diner Napkin
Raw Milk Pathogen
Hangover Tongue
Wall Padding
Confederate Statue Plinth
Brain Worm Wan
White House East Wing Plaster Dust
Single Ply
Food Bank Instant Mashed Potato
Rainbow Phobia
Tubercular Pallor
White Russian Incursion
Billionaire Submersible
Extinct Polar Bear
Polio
This Cocaine is Probably Fine
Unbleached Klan Hood
Faded Democracy
Gerontocracy
Stephen Miller’s Blood
Boneless Skinless Unseasoned
No Cake Under There Just a Solid Block of Fondant
American History Whitewash
School Shooting Shroud
White Water Fountain
Meds Cup
Release the Epstein Files
White Flag
Jennifer Fumiko Cahill (she/her) is the managing editor at the Journal. Reach her at (707) 442-1400 ext. 106, or jennifer@northcoastjournal.com. Follow her on Bluesky @jfumikocahill.bsky.social.
This article appears in Sacred Groves.