diff --git a/docs-site/src/ui/context/layout/detail-panel.md b/docs-site/src/ui/context/layout/detail-panel.md
index 8b01edb5f..8e14b33a3 100644
--- a/docs-site/src/ui/context/layout/detail-panel.md
+++ b/docs-site/src/ui/context/layout/detail-panel.md
@@ -57,7 +57,8 @@ through spacing and a sentence-case title, not a card, divider, or decorative
 background. Pass `icon` for a fixed section icon slot and `tone` to distinguish
 portable `accent`, `neutral`, `success`, `warning`, or `danger` roles through
 text color only. Pass `description` for short supporting context, `meta` for a
-count or state, and `actions` for a normal section. A normal section may omit
+count or state, and `actions` for a normal section. Only the description is
+muted: a field in `actions` keeps its own description and error styles. A normal section may omit
 its body to represent a compact, actionable empty group. Set `collapsible` for
 secondary content. Closed sections show a compact action row; open sections show
 a heading with a collapse button on the right. Their content stays mounted when
diff --git a/docs-site/src/ui/context/layout/overview.md b/docs-site/src/ui/context/layout/overview.md
index 55f194a43..bf4d205f9 100644
--- a/docs-site/src/ui/context/layout/overview.md
+++ b/docs-site/src/ui/context/layout/overview.md
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ sidebar-first overview.
 Put the page's single primary action, such as a create button or a create
 menu, in `actions`. It sits at the trailing edge of the page header.
 
-Use `AppOverview.Main` for the collection. Its `toolbar` slot suits a search field or one compact filter.
+Use `AppOverview.Main` for the collection. Its `toolbar` slot suits a search field or one compact filter. A field there keeps its own description and error styles.
 
 Use `AppOverview.Cards` when the collection is a small set of objects. It lays
 out as many columns of at least 19rem as fit and collapses to one column on
diff --git a/docs-site/src/ui/context/layout/panel-dialog.md b/docs-site/src/ui/context/layout/panel-dialog.md
index 2b11fdb07..dcf2f71ae 100644
--- a/docs-site/src/ui/context/layout/panel-dialog.md
+++ b/docs-site/src/ui/context/layout/panel-dialog.md
@@ -51,6 +51,8 @@ separately.
 `surface="contained"` is the default modal treatment. `surface="floating"` makes the header, footer, and each section separate paper surfaces for settings-style pages.
 
 Use `PanelDialog.Section` for meaningful field groups. Keep the primary save action in `PanelDialog.Footer`.
+Only the section's own subtitle is muted: fields, notices, and paragraphs in the
+section keep their own description, error, and text styles.
 
 Pass `hideable` to a section for optional settings. Closed sections show a flat
 summary row with an eye icon at the trailing edge. Open sections use the normal
diff --git a/packages/ui/src/layout/AppOverview.tsx b/packages/ui/src/layout/AppOverview.tsx
index 8f9628d9b..127e625b7 100644
--- a/packages/ui/src/layout/AppOverview.tsx
+++ b/packages/ui/src/layout/AppOverview.tsx
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ const AppOverviewPanelHeader = (props: Pick<AppOverviewPanelProps, "title" | "de
     <div>
       <h2>{props.title}</h2>
       <Show when={props.description}>
-        <p>{props.description}</p>
+        <p class="k2b-app-overview__panel-description">{props.description}</p>
       </Show>
     </div>
     <Show when={props.toolbar}>
diff --git a/packages/ui/src/layout/DetailPanel.tsx b/packages/ui/src/layout/DetailPanel.tsx
index 6796c1f91..e4b5fc5de 100644
--- a/packages/ui/src/layout/DetailPanel.tsx
+++ b/packages/ui/src/layout/DetailPanel.tsx
@@ -350,7 +350,7 @@ const DetailPanelSection = (props: DetailPanelSectionProps): JSX.Element => {
             <div class="k2b-detail-panel__section-copy">
               <h3 id={headingId}>{props.title}</h3>
               <Show when={props.description}>
-                <p>{props.description}</p>
+                <p class="k2b-detail-panel__section-description">{props.description}</p>
               </Show>
             </div>
             <Show when={props.meta}>
@@ -398,7 +398,7 @@ const DetailPanelSection = (props: DetailPanelSectionProps): JSX.Element => {
             <div class="k2b-detail-panel__section-copy">
               <h3 id={headingId}>{props.title}</h3>
               <Show when={props.description}>
-                <p>{props.description}</p>
+                <p class="k2b-detail-panel__section-description">{props.description}</p>
               </Show>
             </div>
             <Show when={props.meta}>
diff --git a/packages/ui/src/layout/PanelDialog.tsx b/packages/ui/src/layout/PanelDialog.tsx
index c19051cc9..ccace0a1d 100644
--- a/packages/ui/src/layout/PanelDialog.tsx
+++ b/packages/ui/src/layout/PanelDialog.tsx
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ const PanelDialogSection = (props: PanelDialogSectionProps): JSX.Element => {
         <div>
           <h3 id={id}>{props.title}</h3>
           <Show when={props.subtitle}>
-            <p>{props.subtitle}</p>
+            <p class="k2b-panel-dialog__section-subtitle">{props.subtitle}</p>
           </Show>
         </div>
         <Show when={props.actions}>
diff --git a/packages/ui/src/layout/container-field-parts.browser.test.ts b/packages/ui/src/layout/container-field-parts.browser.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f1855b941
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/ui/src/layout/container-field-parts.browser.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+import { afterAll, beforeAll, describe, expect, test } from "bun:test";
+import { mkdtempSync, readFileSync, rmSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { resolve } from "node:path";
+import { createConfig } from "@k2b/ssr";
+import { type Browser, chromium } from "playwright";
+import { createComponent, type JSX } from "solid-js";
+import { renderToString } from "solid-js/web";
+
+// Which rule wins for a field's description and error is decided by the
+// cascade, which happy-dom does not model, so a real engine renders the
+// shipped stylesheet. Containers style their own subtitle by class: a bare
+// `p` selector there would outrank the styles of fields and app paragraphs inside.
+const root = mkdtempSync(resolve(tmpdir(), "k2b-ui-container-field-parts-"));
+const { plugin } = createConfig({ dev: true, rootDir: root });
+Bun.plugin(plugin());
+process.once("exit", () => rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true }));
+
+const { TextInput } = await import("../inputs/TextInput");
+const { default: AppOverview } = await import("./AppOverview");
+const { default: DetailPanel } = await import("./DetailPanel");
+const { default: PanelDialog } = await import("./PanelDialog");
+
+const css = readFileSync(resolve(import.meta.dir, "../../dist/styles.css"), "utf8");
+
+let browser: Browser;
+beforeAll(async () => {
+  browser = await chromium.launch();
+}, 30_000);
+afterAll(async () => {
+  await browser?.close();
+});
+
+const field = () => createComponent(TextInput, { label: "Name", description: "Shown to everyone.", error: "Name is required.", value: "" });
+
+const containers: [string, () => JSX.Element, string][] = [
+  [
+    "panel dialog section body",
+    () =>
+      createComponent(PanelDialog.Section, {
+        title: "General",
+        subtitle: "Basic details.",
+        get children() {
+          return field();
+        },
+      }),
+    ".k2b-panel-dialog__section-subtitle",
+  ],
+  [
+    "app overview toolbar",
+    () =>
+      createComponent(AppOverview.Main, {
+        title: "Your bases",
+        description: "Everything you can open.",
+        get toolbar() {
+          return field();
+        },
+        children: "",
+      }),
+    ".k2b-app-overview__panel-description",
+  ],
+  [
+    "detail panel section actions",
+    () =>
+      createComponent(DetailPanel.Section, {
+        title: "Owner",
+        description: "Who answers questions.",
+        get actions() {
+          return field();
+        },
+      }),
+    ".k2b-detail-panel__section-description",
+  ],
+];
+
+const partStyles = (selector: string) => {
+  const element = document.querySelector(selector);
+  if (!element) throw new Error(`Missing ${selector}`);
+  const style = getComputedStyle(element);
+  return { color: style.color, fontSize: style.fontSize, margin: style.margin };
+};
+
+describe("field parts inside containers", () => {
+  for (const [name, container, subtitle] of containers) {
+    test(`${name} keeps the styles of a field and of an app paragraph beside it`, async () => {
+      const page = await browser.newPage({ viewport: { width: 1440, height: 900 } });
+      try {
+        // Applications style their paragraphs with utilities in a cascade
+        // layer, which any unlayered container rule for `p` would outrank.
+        await page.setContent(
+          `<!doctype html><html><head><style>${css}</style>` +
+            `<style>@layer utilities { .app-hint { color: rgb(1, 2, 3); font-size: 14px; } }</style></head><body class="k2b-ui">` +
+            `<div id="reference">${renderToString(field)}</div><div id="container">${renderToString(container)}</div></body></html>`,
+        );
+        const read = (selector: string) => page.evaluate(partStyles, selector);
+
+        const muted = await page.evaluate(() => {
+          const probe = document.createElement("span");
+          probe.style.color = "var(--k2b-text-muted)";
+          document.body.append(probe);
+          return getComputedStyle(probe).color;
+        });
+        const error = await read("#container .k2b-field__error");
+        expect(error).toEqual(await read("#reference .k2b-field__error"));
+        expect(error.color).not.toBe(muted);
+        expect(await read("#container .k2b-field__description")).toEqual(await read("#reference .k2b-field__description"));
+        expect((await read(`#container ${subtitle}`)).color).toBe(muted);
+
+        const hint = await page.evaluate(() => {
+          const paragraph = document.createElement("p");
+          paragraph.className = "app-hint";
+          const field = document.querySelector("#container .k2b-field");
+          if (!field) throw new Error("Missing field");
+          field.after(paragraph);
+          const style = getComputedStyle(paragraph);
+          return { color: style.color, fontSize: style.fontSize };
+        });
+        expect(hint).toEqual({ color: "rgb(1, 2, 3)", fontSize: "14px" });
+      } finally {
+        await page.close();
+      }
+    });
+  }
+});
diff --git a/packages/ui/src/styles/index.css b/packages/ui/src/styles/index.css
index 5b88ea193..aebd8e43c 100644
--- a/packages/ui/src/styles/index.css
+++ b/packages/ui/src/styles/index.css
@@ -2818,7 +2818,6 @@
   background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--k2b-detail-panel-accent, var(--k2b-accent-600)) 9%, transparent);
 }
 
-.k2b-ui .k2b-detail-panel__section-header p,
 .k2b-ui .k2b-detail-panel__section-description {
   margin: 0.125rem 0 0;
   color: var(--k2b-text-muted);
@@ -3074,8 +3073,7 @@
 
 .k2b-ui .k2b-panel-dialog__heading h2,
 .k2b-ui .k2b-panel-dialog__heading p,
-.k2b-ui .k2b-panel-dialog__section h3,
-.k2b-ui .k2b-panel-dialog__section p {
+.k2b-ui .k2b-panel-dialog__section h3 {
   margin: 0;
 }
 
@@ -3095,10 +3093,11 @@
   overflow-wrap: anywhere;
 }
 
-.k2b-ui .k2b-panel-dialog__section p {
-  margin-top: 0.125rem;
+/* A class, not `p`: section bodies hold fields, and a bare `p` here would
+   outrank their description and error styles. */
+.k2b-ui .k2b-panel-dialog__section > header .k2b-panel-dialog__section-subtitle {
+  margin: 0.125rem 0 0;
   color: var(--k2b-text-muted);
-  font-size: 0.6875rem;
 }
 
 .k2b-ui .k2b-panel-dialog__actions {
diff --git a/packages/ui/src/styles/layout-parity.css b/packages/ui/src/styles/layout-parity.css
index da48a0262..42caebbd1 100644
--- a/packages/ui/src/styles/layout-parity.css
+++ b/packages/ui/src/styles/layout-parity.css
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@
 }
 
 .k2b-ui .k2b-app-overview__panel-header h2,
-.k2b-ui .k2b-app-overview__panel-header p {
+.k2b-ui .k2b-app-overview__panel-description {
   margin: 0;
 }
 
@@ -140,7 +140,9 @@
   font-weight: 650;
 }
 
-.k2b-ui .k2b-app-overview__panel-header p {
+/* A class, not `p`: the toolbar beside it holds fields with their own
+   description and error styles. */
+.k2b-ui .k2b-app-overview__panel-description {
   color: var(--k2b-text-muted);
   font-size: 0.75rem;
 }