The New Year’s Underwear Tradition: A Colorful Path to Manifestation

In the heart of Hell’s Kitchen, while many New Yorkers are busily creating vision boards or drafting resolution lists for the upcoming year, 26-year-old McKenna Rine is engaged in a more intimate ritual: carefully selecting the perfect pair of underwear to welcome 2026. This isn’t about romance or seduction, but about manifestation. “Choosing to wear green underwear to manifest a year of health and wealth was an easy pick for me,” explains the model and content creator. “Having done red in the past for romance, yellow for fiscal fortune, and black for power, the color of my underwear is sort of my catalyst for having a great year.” Rine’s commitment to this tradition spans nearly a decade, and she firmly believes in its effectiveness. Five years ago, after donning red underwear on New Year’s Eve, she met the love of her life. This year, her selection of green represents not just financial prosperity but a broader conception of wealth that encompasses health, stability, and peace – a deliberate shift after years focused on career achievements and personal milestones.

This colorful superstition isn’t unique to Rine. Across social media platforms, women are hunting down underwear in specific shades to manifest their desires for 2026. Some are even consulting psychics, astrologers, and fashion psychologists to help select the perfect hue. Among these believers is New York City-based astrologer and author Lisa Stardust, who plans to wear pink underwear as the ball drops to manifest self-love in the coming year. “Pink is a color associated with the heart chakra,” Stardust explains. “Beyond that, pink is a calming force,” representing serenity, grounding, and emotional gentleness – qualities she hopes to cultivate in the months ahead. For those still deciding on their celebratory skivvies, Stardust offers a cosmic color guide: red for passion and power, yellow for positivity and joy, green for abundance and prosperity, black for protection and healing, and blue for communication, clarity, and intuition. She advises against brown, beige, or gray, which she believes can restrict growth or introduce uncertainty, suggesting that adding a pop of another color like red can help neutralize any negative energy.

While some might dismiss this tradition as frivolous superstition, experts suggest there’s psychological merit to the practice. Dr. Sanam Hafeez, a neuropsychologist based in Forest Hills, explains that what we wear sends signals to our brains before anyone else notices. “The colors themselves aren’t magic,” she acknowledges, but the ritual can prime confidence, motivation, and intention for the year ahead. This phenomenon, which Dr. Hafeez calls “enclothed cognition,” suggests that both the symbolism of our clothing and how it feels physically can shape our thoughts, actions, and even our posture. The intimate nature of underwear adds another dimension to this effect – because it’s hidden from others, it creates a private commitment, a personal intention carried quietly into the new year.

The power of colored underwear as a New Year’s tradition has deep cultural roots. According to Dr. Hafeez, colors have long symbolized protection, fertility, luck, and prosperity across various global traditions, particularly in Latin America, the Mediterranean, and parts of Asia. NYC-based fashion psychologist and stylist Sarah Seung-McFarland adds further context, explaining that our reactions to colors combine biological responses, cultural conditioning, and personal experiences. “When someone chooses a color with a specific goal in mind, they’re activating all of those layers at once,” she notes. This multi-layered activation can subtly influence how people feel and navigate the new year, creating a psychological foundation for their goals and aspirations.

The emotional aspect of this tradition is perhaps its most compelling feature. Therapist and identity expert Cynthia Flores observes that “clothing is never just clothing. It carries meaning, memory, and intention.” This is especially true for undergarments, which remain private and personal rather than being displayed for others. Unlike public declarations of resolutions or elaborate vision boards, colored underwear represents a quiet, intimate commitment to oneself – not a performance for external validation but a secret pact with your future self. For Rine, this personal quality is precisely what makes the tradition meaningful. “The traditions are what make me enjoy the changing of the calendar more than the prosecco toasts,” she says, suggesting that these private rituals provide a deeper connection to the passage of time and the potential for change than more public celebrations.

As we approach another New Year’s Eve, this colorful tradition offers an intriguing blend of superstition, psychology, and personal empowerment. Whether you view it as magical thinking or a practical psychological tool, the act of intentionally selecting underwear color creates a moment of reflection and purpose amid the holiday chaos. It transforms an ordinary, everyday item into a talisman for the year ahead, a constant but private reminder of one’s hopes and intentions. And in a world where many New Year’s resolutions are abandoned by February, perhaps there’s something to be said for a tradition that stays close to you every day, literally. So as the countdown to 2026 approaches, many will be making their color selections with care – because sometimes, the most powerful intentions are the ones we carry closest to ourselves, hidden from view but ever-present in our consciousness.