The Significance of Your Underwear Color on NYE, and What It Means For 2026

How you end the year may influence how the entire year ahead turns out. Specifically, when we’re talking style, some people believe the color underwear you choose for New Year’s Eve could be potentially prophetic. Whether you’re attending a party or lounging at home to watch the ball drop, if you want to put thought into the color of your panties and what that hue could symbolize, keep reading. The idea? Each color is associated with a specific quality you hope to embody in 2026.

Founder of PSYKHE and fashion psychologist Anabel Maldonado explains that the superstition ties into the concept of “enclothed cognition.” This theory argues that how we dress informs our psychological processes, thoughts, and feelings. Two researchers at Northwestern University, Hajo Adam and Adam Galinsky, coined the concept after their studies showed that people wearing white doctor’s coats were more attentive during a series of tasks than those wearing white painter’s coats. The reason tied back to their prior assumptions about a doctor’s heightened ability to focus.

“While the superstitions have a much more metaphysical interpretation — aka the color will magically make things happen for you — I believe our ancestors were just missing the middle step: the fact that if we think it and believe it, we’re halfway there to what we desire,” Maldonado says, sharing that some of the women she grew up with in her Latin culture wore red underwear on New Year’s Eve for a good love life.

Ahead, discover the different colors and what they are said to symbolize. Then, shop selects from popular lingerie brands once you decide what you’re manifesting for 2026.

Our Favorite Panties in Every Color

Expert Featured in This Article:

Anabel Maldonado is the founder of PSYKHE and a fashion psychologist.