The color wizards at Pantone have really done it this time. They’ve set the internet ablaze with their 2026 color of the year, Cloud Dancer, which seems to be a euphemism for white.

Sure, white has all kinds of almost imperceptible tints, but many netizens are coloring this one as a copout. (And more than a few are invoking Sydney Sweeney's infamous American Eagle ad.)

Let’s see how Pantone describes its pick:

The Pantone Colour of the Year 2026, PANTONE 11-4201 Cloud Dancer, is a key structural colour whose versatility provides scaffolding for the colour spectrum, allowing all colours to shine. In a world where colour has become synonymous with personal expression, this is a shade that can adapt, harmonise, and create contrast, bringing a feeling of airy lightness to all product applications and environments, whether making a stand-alone statement or combined with other hues.

So, it looks like Pantone marketers are framing Cloud Dancer as everything and nothing at the same — which is what the color white is.

We had fun listing Peach Fuzz-colored home goods from Austin for 2024 and pointing out how Mocha Mousse fit right in with Houzz’s design predictions for 2025. We’re pretty sure most people in Austin don’t need any more white in their millennial gray houses for 2026, so we’ve come up with some de-influencing recommendations this year, mixed in with a few ways Pantone’s 2026 color of the year is popping up around town — and sometimes plaguing us — these days.

1. A chic, minimalist mug
You could spend $30 on what basically amounts to a plain white mug from Pantone, or you could get one that’s almost the same at H-E-B for less than $4. If you simply can’t resist a Pantone dupe, Austin-based cookware brand Made In sells a set of not one, but four white Cloud Dancer mugs for $40. They also offer the same set with blue or red rims for added personality — gasp!

2. New-build houses bought during the pandemic
Nothing says post-boom Austin quite like a multistory townhouse in all white — except a multistory townhouse in white with black trim. Thankfully, all the recent reports we’ve seen say the Austin housing market is stabilizing. However, Cloud Dancers who bought during the pandemic can stay up in the sky a while longer; a report this summer a third of those homes risked selling at a loss, which was the worst of any major metro.

3. Oat milk from Desnudo
Austinites are more than used to being made fun of for their physiological dependence on alternative milks. We recommend picking some up at Desnudo’s cute blue-and-Cloud-Dancer coffee trailers. Desnudo is the reigning champion for Best Coffee Shop according to CultureMap’s industry-voted Tastemaker Awards; plus they don’t upcharge customers for choosing non-dairy milks for their beverages.

4. The mailer HAAM sends after a donation
Austinites who want to give a gift in a trendy color — one that does some good for an actually colorful community — can make a donation to the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) in a friend’s name. They’ll send out a practical receipt on Cloud Dancer office paper.

5. Flour from Barton Springs Mill
Become the envy of all your friends when you brag that your delicious Christmas cookies were baked using stone-milled, Cloud Dancer-esque flour. In all seriousness, we can't help but be sincere about Barton Springs Mill, which sifts its premium all-purpose flour to a superfine “00,” giving it a “silky soft, almost white” appearance without the use of bleaching agents.

6. Waymos breezing past school buses
Driverless vehicles are having their heyday in Austin, and like Cloud Dancer, Waymo cars' neutral white silhouette has become a symbol of Austin's divided opinions about techno-futurism. All eyes are really on them this week: Austin Independent School District has entered a battle with the company after its bus cameras caught Waymo vehicles illegally passing the buses’ stop arms at least 19 times this year.

7. MSG from Hana World
A little umami never hurt anybody. Austinites making their final trips to specialty Asian grocery store Hana World, which closes permanently on December 15, can pick up some shelf-stable, versatile, Cloud Dancer-colored monosodium glutamate granules to help run up their tab. The owners have said they plan to use their final sales to pay staff going into the holidays.

8. Peaceful candles from Parker + Scott
Excuse our skepticism about how a white nylon keychain is supposed to embody a “calming influence in a society rediscovering the value of quiet reflection.” Why not try some aromatherapy? Parker + Scott’s aptly named “Smells Like Five Minutes of Peace” candle uses cactus flower, jade amber, and “zero judgement” to help find that inner calm.