The Butter Yellow Edit

Have you noticed that butter is everywhere? Butter skin is the next dewy craze; butter-stuffed dates allegedly taste like cookie dough; and butter yellow is hands down the color of the season. 

In the last week alone, I’ve seen TQE’s co-founder in a butter yellow cashmere top, our Senior Director of Growth with butter yellow nails, and a Senior Performance Marketing Manager with a butter yellow phone case. Joining their ranks? Timothee Chalamet, Sydney Sweeney, and Sabrina Carpenter. We’re all in this together.

In fact, Pantone recently surprised Drew Barrymore with her very own shade – Drew Barrymore Yellow – in honor of her 50th birthday. Their statement offers a little insight into our universal embrace of the color: “The Pantone Color Institute…was tasked with selecting a colour that would encapsulate Drew’s remarkable career and enduring impact. The result is a softly radiant golden yellow, designed to embody her infectious optimism, creative spirit, and uplifting presence – a hue as warm and vibrant as the woman herself.”

I asked SET Active founder Lindsey Carter – fresh off the brand’s Coastal Countryside drop, which includes a butter yellow colorway – for her thoughts. She explains:

It strikes that perfect balance between being a statement color while still feeling incredibly wearable. It's sunny and optimistic without being overpowering. Neutrals and muted tones have been trending for years, so it feels like this gravitation toward butter yellow is an expansion of that; it's equally sophisticated with a touch more joy.

When everything feels a bit loud – online, in the news, even in your closet – there’s something refreshing about a color that just feels easy. Agreeable. It’s soft, warm, and quietly optimistic. Sometimes, that’s enough.

That may also be why we’ve seen this trend before (no, this isn’t butter yellow’s first rodeo). Fans of the defunct site Man Repeller may remember Harling Ross Anton coining her “stick of butter” aesthetic way back in 2018 – describing her winter wardrobe in soft, buttery tones. It was cozy, elevated, and proof the shade can work year-round.

A recent New York Times article noted the rise of neutral dressing in one of Switzerland’s most luxurious alpine resorts, St. Moritz. In the article, Alessandro Sartori, artistic director of Ermenegildo Zegna, explains: “To be fashionably superrich…is to be clad in the anodyne colors of baby food, tea cookies or screen savers: latte, oatmeal, cream, butterscotch, café au lait.”

Why? “It’s a mature kind of luxury that doesn’t seek external validation,” answers entrepreneur and St. Moritz winter-resident André de Farias. 

Over the past few years, we’ve seen fashion trends like “quiet luxury,” and “mob wife aesthetic” mimic the wealthy – and perhaps butter yellow is simply our next iteration of aspirational elite dressing. 

However you frame it, it’s not hard to see why butter yellow is resonating. It’s cozy without being lazy, chic without trying too hard. And it’s selling quickly. Take it from Carter:

Without getting too deep into specific numbers, I can say that this color sold out within hours of launch, which is incredible validation for a color that's nothing like anything we've done before.

In a world that feels increasingly unpredictable, a soft, flattering shade that lightens the mood (and your outfit) is hard to argue with. Whether you go full stick-of-butter or just a pat, it’s an easy win.

Curious to try out the trend for yourself? Our fashion editor Andrea Bossi advises:

It's worth investing in pieces of a trending color when you really like that color and see it being in your closet long term. Some trending colors have longevity, and some can become sour sartorial reminders of the past. Butter yellow is neutral adjacent, so I think it'll have some real staying power in people's wardrobes.

We asked our editors to offer a peek into their shopping carts as a helpful starting place… 

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