Weeks before the First Lady stepped out in that lemongrass Isabel Toledo ensemble, global color authority and paintmaker Pantone predicted that 2009 would be all about yellow, specifically "Mimosa" (Pantone #14-0848). It's the color of the year. "The color yellow exemplifies the warmth and nurturing quality of the sun, properties we as humans are naturally drawn to for reassurance," said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, in a press release. "Mimosa also speaks to enlightenment, as it is a hue that sparks imagination and innovation," not to mention our favorite way to start the day. (Plus, it sounds fresher and fizzier than "goldenrod.")

Given its versatility, Pantone predicts that 2009 will yield a bumper crop of Mimosa "women's accessories, home furnishings, active sportswear, and men's ties and shirts." Like last year's color of the year, the Yves Klein-esque "Blue Iris," the spring runways offered a preview of the year's hot hues. Yellows ranging from Sunflower and Aurora to Gold and Super Lemon popped from the collections of designers such as Carmen Marc Valvo, Reem Acra, Yigal Azrouel, and Christian Francis Roth, who created a print based upon a vintage grafitti-splashed subway car to which he matched Pantone colors, including Mimosa.