All Buttered Up

written by ella mordarski

art by ella mordarski

It seems a delicious new color has arrived on the scene for summer.

Her name? Butter Yellow.

Like every year before, another spring/summer fashion week has come and gone. While this display of style typically occurs in the chilly months of deep winter, it provides an excellent menu of upcoming trends, usually predicted by the best in the fashion forecasting biz. This year, almost all runways were spread with butter yellow. From Chanel to Miu Miu, designers are harnessing the creamy color of a classic baking staple.

As per usual, this love for the color has trickled down from couture showrooms to more accessible retailers like Abercrombie or Banana Republic. It seems whatever store you pop into these days, there is at least one butter yellow item waiting to come home with you. From jeans to purses to water bottles, there is simply no escaping the trendy color. KitchenAid has even jumped on the train, releasing a new “2025 Color of the Year” butter yellow edition of their famous stand mixer. I was even recently the victim of a targeted ad featuring a butter yellow vibrator by Dame.

I work as a sales associate at Athleta, and our store has been a butter yellow haven since before the holidays. At first, I was not sure of the trendy color, one may even say I hated it. Actress Sydney Sweeney was even photographed wearing one of our iconic bra-and-legging sets in the color. I even remember quipping, “We have so many other great colors . . . why that one?” to a co-worker one late-night shift. But as I write this today, I now own a full butter yellow Athleta look—with a matching cross-body saddle bag and knee high socks.

So . . . why butter yellow?

Well, the unique shade offers a fun twist on your classic spring or summer neutral. Most consumers have been taught to fill their summer wardrobe with khaki, cream, or bright white pieces as they tend to complement other common warm-weather colors well. Butter yellow easily styles the same way as these other neutral shades, but also adds a bit of dimension. A cream dress is a nice classic, but arriving in butter yellow instead completely elevates the look. That's why the color has plagued all retail at the moment—even the most unqualified shoppers can put together a strong look centered around butter yellow. It gives off the impression of someone not scared to play with color, while still being as simple to style as melting a stick of butter on the stove.

The key is, butter yellow has both warm and cool properties, meaning it can easily be paired with a plethora of other colors most likely already hanging in your closet. Styling butter yellow with cool tones like light blue, jewel-toned purple, and matcha green creates a vibrant display that can brighten even the most tired under eyes. On the other hand—or, rather, on the other side of the color wheel—styling butter yellow with warm tones like chocolate brown, rusty red, or zesty orange helps to highlight the darker colors, while not overpowering the model wearing them.

So, as we move into the warmer months and you begin a wardrobe refresh, try butter yellow. If you're having trouble, Pinterest is a great place for some buttery outfit inspo. You never know, the color may just melt your heart, like it has mine.