Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Tallit" in English language version.
The tallit is usually white, based on the Talmudic description that God wraps Himself in a tallit (RH 17b), and "His garment was as white as snow" (Dan. 7:9).
The tallit may be any combination of colors, but until recently it was most commonly white with black stripes. In modern times blue stripes have become more common. Blue and white, the colors associated with the State of Israel and its flag, actually originated as the 'Jewish colors' because of the tallit.
The tallit is sometimes decorated with black stripes, which some say is a remembrance or memorial to the destruction of the Holy Temple and the exile.