Museums are increasingly interested in installing energy-saving light sources, such as LED (light-emitting diode) lamps; however, LEDs are still a new technology with legitimate concerns about the effects of light spectra on artifacts, including textiles, Many models may not possess the same color-rendering properties that observers are accustomed to, and it is important to understand the effects that spectra can have on the perception of dyed textiles. This research explored the effects of different light spectra, including those of LEDs, on popular dyes with the goal of understanding the interaction of light with textiles. Eleven early synthetic dyes and two natural dyes were selected for exposure to 10 different LED spectra. This paper summarizes our findings to date: LED spectra with the same color temperature can render very different observable colors, especially with saturated colors. Saturated purples were found to be extremely hard to render accurately under LEDs. The experiment indicates that color temperature and illuminance level are no longer sufficient when specifying a light source for exhibit.