For the past 15 years, I was convinced I couldn’t wear yellow. I’m Chinese, so my skin already has golden undertones, and I assumed that anything that emphasized them would make me look washed-out and sickly. But one day during New York Fashion Week I bumped into Vanessa Hong, a street-style favorite, wearing a bright yolk-hued jacket layered over slick black patent trousers. The combination looked fresh and surprisingly flattering against her white blonde hair and medium skin tone. As a fellow Asian blonde with a similar complexion, it got me thinking.
My wardrobe is 90 percent black with a tiny dash of red. Introducing a second bright color was wildly out of my comfort zone. But after an interview with the designers behind Kwaidan Editions, I impulsively bought their yellow-and-red tie-dyed shirt. Wearing it over my favorite black patent pants, I felt cool but still true to myself. A month later I decided to throw a dark floral Magda Butrym dress over the same pants as a quirky Fashion-Week look. Two months later, I somehow found myself owning neon yellow Kenzo dad sneakers. Yellow had slowly wormed its way into my heart.
But my obsession really hit its stride with the latest batch of runway shows. Designers from Rachel Comey to Fendi to Jil Sander to JW Anderson featuring the shade in their designs. The options were endless: a parade of desirable yellow dresses, coats, and skirts, worn by models whose skin tones spanned all 40 shades of Fenty Beauty’s foundation.
Convincing other people to share my new love of yellow has been a challenge. Like brown, it’s a much-maligned color. Yellow certainly isn’t as easy to incorporate into your wardrobe as blue or red. And it definitely calls attention to itself, which might not be what you’re going for. But it truly looks incredible on all skin tones, if you choose the right shade.
Yellow gives a glow to your complexion, and since it’s tricky to pull off, it will garner plenty of compliments — or at least, that’s my experience. Is that narcissistic? A little, but guess what color is at the center of a narcissus flower? That’s right: yellow.
Scroll ahead to shop our favorite yellow finds in stores now.
Sleeker than a pair of sweatpants but just as easy to wear.
Available in sizes XXS-XL