Why it’s time to swap beige for anti-ageing buttery yellow: This is how you can make the season’s hot new trend work for you and exactly what to buy

Lurpak. Clover. Anchor. You heard it here first: light, buttery yellow is the shade of the season.

That news might make you shriek with horror – pale yellow is not universally appreciated for its flattering properties. But there’s a new, youthful yet sophisticated way to wear this particular yellow, which is pale and refined rather than garish.

You simply treat it as an elevated neutral – a grown-up way to add just a dash of playfulness, but far more elegant than the tooth-achingly sweet pastels that re-emerge every spring.

The rules of wearing traditional, brighter yellows don’t apply. At Chanel’s SS25 show, butter yellow was rendered ladylike in boucle; at Tods, it was paired with chambray; at Alaia, it was head-to-toe.

The takeaway? Whatever your style, you can make this season’s yellow work for you.

Read on for our guide to where to find the best butter yellow pieces on the High Street and how to style them…

Choose a retro knit  

There’s a retro elegance to butter yellow – as shown by Elle Fanning in custom Prada strapless silkiness on the red carpet in December. Off the red carpet, this vintage vibe lends itself well to 1950s-style cropped cardigans and jumpers.

Toteme’s cashmere jumper is £500, while Hobbs’s cardigan is £79. Pair with the equally buttery silk skirt (£89, hobbs.com) for a stick-of-butter look that’s more ladylike than wacky.

Add to every outfit

Accessories are a good place to start for those who are wary of going head-to-toe. Pair John Lewis’s slingback kitten heels (£65, johnlewis.com) with jeans, or Marks & Spencer’s Bottega Veneta-lookalike bag (£35, Marks and Spencer’s) with, well, just about anything. Told you butter yellow was the new beige.

Skip frills and opt for tailoring

For head-to-toe butter yellow inspiration look to Alaia and 16Arlington’s SS25 catwalks.

On the High Street, the shortcut to successful all-out buttery chicness is to avoid frills at all costs and opt for tailoring – a la Timothee Chalamet’s butter yellow Givenchy suit at the Oscars last month. A matching three-piece suit will ensure there’s no dreaded discrepancy of shade between your butter-hued separates.

River Island’s blazer (£69) and elegant shorts (£29, riverisland.com) will see you through many a summer event – just add a raffia boater for best-dressed guest status.

Treat it as a neutral 

Butter yellow is a non-scary way to dip even the most beige-obsessed toe into something ever-so-slightly different – it works so well as a neutral that it’ll fit around the wardrobe staples you already own and love.

At designer Zimmermann’s show in Paris last month, Katie Holmes wore her butter yellow jacket and trousers with a chocolate brown bodysuit and bag.

Had her jacket and trousers been any other yellow, the look would have veered into bumblebee territory. Ditto Chanel and Givenchy’s SS25 models – their butter yellow looks were paired with black accessories, and not a single bumblebee comparison ensued.

Why not team yours with a tan leather tote or a pair of soft faux suede slingback heels, like these from River Island?

Be bold to dress it up

Even Toteme, usually a stalwart of monochrome and beige minimalism, sent models down the SS25 catwalk in billowy butter yellow maxi dresses. Chloe also made a case for the butter yellow dress as the look of summer 2025 at its catwalk show. The dress comes with a £3,000 price tag, but If Only If’s off-shoulder dress exhibits the same dream-like fluidity for £145 (ifonlyif.co.uk).

Bold accessories – such as Mango’s corsage necklace (£17.99, mango.com) – will add a glamour perfect for sun-drenched holidays come July. River Island’s gold shell bag (£32) is a near-identical twin to Chloe’s £4,190 version.