What Is Sage? Bridesmaid Dress Color Dictionary

You may have heard the word sage a lot when you were shopping for a bridesmaid dress. Or perhaps the bride has given you instructions to get a sage dress for the wedding!

Sage is a pale green with a grey undertone, it has been a very popular color for weddings over the past few years, especially in the spring and summer.

Keep reading to learn all about sage, including the bridesmaid dress trend in this color.

What Is the Color Sage?

Sage is a shade of green. It is a muted green— not deep and brilliant like emerald or forest. Rather, sage green has gray undertones and can be considered more of an earthy green.

Sage is considered to be a quaternary color. This means that it is an equal mix of two tertiary colors— in this case, citron and slate.

The color is named for the sage plant, whose leaves share this silvery gray-green shade.

What Does the Color Sage Signify?

Many brides choose sage as one of their wedding colors because of how pretty the color is. However, some brides may also consider the meaning of this color, and as a bridesmaid, you may be interested in the symbolism of the color, too!

As we mentioned above, sage is a shade of green. Greens are typically linked to nature, growth, and new things— just like the green growth of new plants every spring. Sage green can symbolize all of these.

More specifically, sage green can also represent tranquility and balance, in addition to what we mentioned above. It can also be a symbol of fertility, like earth’s bounty, which can be a good symbol for the wedding of a couple who hope to have a large family.

Sage also signifies calm and healing. The color can even have a physical calming effect, which can be great for someone who is part of a hectic wedding day!

The Origin and History of Sage

In Egyptian and other ancient civilizations such as Greece, the color sage green began to be used in different kinds of art to signify the natural world. This could be textile arts, like weaving tapestries on a loom, or paintings and decorative murals.

The color sage spread through art in many areas, and as the Renaissance Age began, sage was used more in fabrics, too, to represent nature.

Another era that sage was very popular was the Victorian era, where it began to rise in popularity as a color for wallpaper and interior fabrics. The intention here was to use sage to create a relaxing space— which is still a common use for the color in home decor today!

What Is the Color Sage Used For?

The color sage is used for many different things. Over the past several years, it became one of the “it” colors for fashion. Sage is one of the most popular wedding colors for decor and bridesmaid dresses. In fact, some grooms even wear sage green suits!

Sage is also popular in everyday fashion, from casual tops to swimwear and dresses. You have likely passed someone on the street wearing a sage garment!

However, the popularity of the color extends beyond fashion. Sage green is also used for interior design, such as being used as a wall paint color or for accent decor or even sage green kitchen cabinetry!

Sage is a popular color choice for spas or bathrooms, where a designer is trying to exude a sense of calm and relaxation.  Many designers even treat sage as a neutral color due to its gray undertones!

What Color Goes Well With Sage?

Since many people treat sage as a neutral, and because it is a more muted tone, there are many different colors that go well with sage. You can mix and match different colors with sage depending on the theme of the wedding.

For example, blush pink goes very well with sage green for a spring or early summer wedding! Both colors are lighter colors that do not compete too strongly against each other. Some other light colors that go well with sage are dusty blue or lilac, which are also popular wedding colors right now.

If you want a bolder look, try a more saturated color to go with sage green and create more of a pop. Salmon, copper, or terra cotta are all great shades that will play nicely off of sage green. These are also a good choice for a late summer or fall wedding if you still want to use sage.

Another option is to keep it tonal and use another shade of green to go with the sage green. You could use a deeper shade of eucalyptus, which is very close to sage, or go for a forest or olive green that is significantly darker.

What Colors Are Similar to Sage?

Sage is a shade of green. While your first thought might be that all greens are similar to sage, that is not necessarily true. After all, there are still so many different types of green! There are certainly some greens that are closer than others.

The first color that is similar to green is one we have already mentioned— eucalyptus. Instead of having a gray undertone, though, eucalyptus is more of a blue-green. However, the shade is still close to sage green and has the same cool tone to it. Eucalyptus is a richer version of green.

Pistachio green is similar to sage, too. It is a light green shade, not as saturated as emerald, for example. However, it is brighter than sage green. It has a yellow tone to it, so it is a warmer toned green than sage or even eucalyptus.

Moss green is another type of green that is similar to sage. Like pistachio, it has more of a yellow tint to it than the first two shades. However, it is still a muted, earthy color like sage.

If you are looking for a dupe alternative to sage green, eucalyptus green is going to be your best bet. Pistachio and moss green are similar, sharing some characteristics with sage, but they would not be confused for sage green either. They are still their own colors, after all!

What Is the Alternative to Sage?

You could use many different greens instead of sage green. Which shade you choose will depend upon whether you want it to look as close to sage as possible, or if you want your alternative color just to be similar.

As we mentioned previously, the best choice for a color that looks like sage is going to be eucalyptus. They both have cool undertones and are muted and dark— but without the saturation of a dark jewel toned green.

If someone didn’t know better, they might not be able to tell that your color is actually eucalyptus and not sage!

If you simply want a light, mild green, and don’t care that it is extremely close to sage, you could widen your outlook and choose a color such as a moss green or mint green. Moss green is another color similar to sage, while mint is a bit brighter and bluer.

Mint can be a great choice for spring or summer weddings, just like sage green is, but it is not a shade that anyone would confuse with sage, either! If you want to get very close to sage with your color choice, it might be best to skip mint green.

Trends In Sage Bridesmaid Dresses

Sage green bridesmaid dresses are usually chosen for warm weather weddings. It is for this reason that some of the most popular trends is sage green bridesmaid dresses include strappy or sleeveless styles.

Cowl necklines or cowl backs are also stylish features that we see in a lot of sage green bridesmaid dresses right now. Mermaid and A-line silhouettes are some of the most popular shapes for sage green bridesmaid dresses right now.

Another popular trend that has emerged is satin bridesmaid dresses. Many bridesmaid dresses are sage green satin, which caters to two of the top trends in bridesmaid dresses right now! They are also very flattering on the body, and the fabric is classic, too.

Lightweight fabrics like chiffon are always popular for bridesmaid dresses, but especially so for sage green styles due to the color’s popularity for warm weather and outdoor weddings. Chiffon is more comfortable than some other fabric options, especially in hot, sunny weather!