Yellow hasn't always been the most popular choice of colour for the red carpet. It's considered difficult to wear, it clashes with the crimson floor, and all the associated Big Bird vibes kind of killed its chic status. 

But then, one fateful day in 2003, everything changed.

Kate Moss stepped out in New York in a vintage lemon-sherbet dress that got acres of press and sowed the first seeds for her subsequent Topshop takeover – the first collection of which contained a replica of this very frock. 

And the rest is history. Kate's intervention started a slow-burn trend that has developed over the last decade, until frocks the colour of sunshine, egg-yolk, buttercup and even mustard became a surefire hit, worn by everyone from Kate Middleton to Lena Dunham. Going back to those early days, here are 29 times celebrities wore yellow to stunning effect.

1. Following Kate's big success, all went quiet on the citrus front for a while... and then, at the 2006 Oscars, Michelle Williams reignited the trend in Vera Wang.

At this point Williams was known only as the apple of Dawson's eye on that show about his creek, and the one in Brokeback Mountain without any tent scenes, meaning that in this memorable daffodil dress, she proved that red carpet yellow was open to all, not just freaks of fashion. Celebrity yellow fever began to incubate. 

2. 2007 saw Angelina have a go, with a floaty Hollywood Emanuel Ungaro gown in the same camp as Michelle's.

3. Having not yet fully embraced her raunch in 2008, Rihanna continued the trend's genesis in this pretty layered Giambattista Valli dress.  

4. January Jones stayed similarly safe with this Grecian style Tommy Hilfiger dress in 2009.

5. In 2010, little about the trend had changed with Taylor Swift still pushing pretty in D&G. 

6. But then in 2011, all changed. Raf Simons had just made the fashion world sit up and listen extra hard with his explosive collection of Crayola Couture for Jil Sander spring 2011, and it was Drew Barrymore, style pioneer that she is, that took one of his yolk-hued pieces to the red carpet and raised the yellow trend to the next level. 

7. There was no guessing where those celebrities would let the canary fly now. Kirsten Dunst even ditched the dress and wore a sunflower suit by Rodarte in 2012. 

8. In 2013, there was no stopping it. Solange Knowles showed a simple take on the hue in a MaxMara shift in New York.

9. And she looked incredible in sunny Pucci sequins at the Oscars. 

10. At the CFDA awards blogger Hanneli Mustaparta wore a golden cape by Calvin Klein. 

11. While Jessica Stam went short and sweet in Rebecca Minkoff. 

12. Kerry Washington returned to glamorous Hollywood style in Jason Wu. 

13. Emma Stone threw some white into the mix wearing Stella McCartney.

14. At the 2013 BAFTAs, Marion Cotillard looked stunning in Christian Dior. 

15. Frances Ha star Mickey Sumner proved that she's a black belt at this trend. 

16. Kate celebrated a decade since she started it all with another lemony dress, this time by Louis Vuitton. 

17. And at the Inside Llewyn Davis screening, Carey Mulligan made the shade work for winter in Christian Dior. 

18. New year, new crop of daffodils. Lupita Nyong'o wore a deep yellow Dior dress at a lunch for 12 Years A Slave in January 2014.

19. At the National Board of Review Awards that month, Jessica Chastain wore a yellow Oscar de la Renta prom dress, which artfully clashed with her red hair.

20. Lena Dunham chose this Zac Posen fishtail number for the 2014 Golden Globe Awards. We're going to call that shade banana.

21. Eliza Doolittle chose a yellow slip for a party in February.

22. Looking like a Hollywood goddess, Rita Ora wore this Prada gown for the Brit Awards in February.

23. Back in April, the Duchess of Cambridge wore this Roksanda Ilincic dress during her tour of Australia and New Zealand. Apparently Prince William told her it made her look like a banana, at which we hope she raised an eyebrow, looked pointedly at his outfit and said nothing.

24. Katie Holmes went a little 'saloon landlady' in this Marchesa gown for the Met Gala, but there's no denying her olive skin can carry off the colour.

25. And at the same event, Olivia Munn looked stunning in Diane von Furstenberg. Note the chic grey waistband.

26. Model Irina Shayk wore citrus-hued Versace at Cannes.

27. Jourdan Dunn paired dark lips with her golden Balmain dress for the amfAR gala in May.

28. At the same event, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley wore a Grecian mustard-coloured Emilio Pucci gown.

29. Uma Thurman wore Atelier Versace in a bold canary yellow. Not an obvious choice for her skin tone, but she carried it off admirably.

30. Finally, this month Shailene Woodley nailed it in Ralph Lauren for the The Fault in Our Stars premiere.

In Hollywood, everyone apart from George Clooney has now donned yellow for an awards event or premiere. With such a convincing weight of evidence that the colour is wearable, it would be churlish not to give it a go yourself. Get started with our primer on the yellow dresses you can wear this summer.