The One Color You Need to Pack for Your Summer Vacation

Here comes the sun – literally as in the arrival of summer and figuratively as the sunny shade of yellow experiences a ready-to-wear and accessories takeover. There are lush buttery tints, brilliant lemony hues, and spicier variations such as saffron and mustard, all gaining popularity.

Ahhh, but what of the fate of the ubiquitous millennial pink? Gen-Zers (born between the 1990s and 2000s) have ignited the rapidly spreading yellow craze that some say is knocking pink off its girly pedestal.

Related: These Are the Hottest Destinations for a Summer Vacation in 2018

There’s a lot to be said for the luminous shade. It’s associated with freshness and happiness and as the brightest color on the spectrum that the human eye can see, yellow’s got visual power and people are going bananas for it. Some fashion pundits claim there is a severe case of pink fatigue since color authority Pantone dubbed Rose Quartz the color of the year in 2016. 

That’s around the time those blushy, barely-there (dare we say washed out?) tones were embraced by social media influencers e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e and the pink revolution continued for years. Haley Nahman at Man Repeller wrote, “Gen-Z Yellow is the natural evolution of millennial pink. It maintains that pleasing-to-the-eye softness of the sweetest shades of millennial pink, but without the over-played infantilization. It’s both nostalgic and modern. It has zest, energy, optimism.”

But other color experts believe that pink has staying power. “Pink has gained the status of ‘classic’ now and as such, it will not always be the ‘darling’ but it is still a staple and used all the time,” Leslie Harrington, executive director of The Color Association of the United, told Travel + Leisure. As for yellow having a serious moment, Harrington says, “I am glad to see yellow busting out. It was big in the '60s with the love, peace and flower power generation… what comes around goes around.”

And even if you think pink is passé,  there’s no harm in swigging plenty of rosé this summer — just consider wearing a yellow sundress while imbibing. We cordially invite you try Gen-Z yellow: