Jordan 4: Women's Colorways, Retro Classics and the RM, From the 1989 Shot to Now

In 1989 Michael Jordan closed the first round of the playoffs with a balletic buzzer beater that eliminated Cleveland, a play now known simply as "The Shot," according to Nike's own history of the Air Jordan 4. The shoe was designed by Tinker Hatfield and was the first global release of the Jordan line. It also turned up in Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing. I love that a basketball shoe ended up on a movie screen.

 

Hatfield kept the visible heel Air from the Jordan 3 but made the 4 lighter, with a new mesh, and he described it as a little lighter and a little different. That is the whole appeal of the Jordan 4 for me: it is technical without being fussy. The wings, the netting and the cage read as architecture, and it still looks right with a plain pair of jeans.

 

For women, the first eight pairs are where I would start. The Retro 4 Women's Iced Carmine is brushed pink suede with a cream midsole, and I would wear it with gray sweatpants and a big white tee. The Metallic Gold is cream suede with gold Jumpman accents, which works with camel and ivory. The Hemp is a soft tan shimmer suede, the Seafoam Sail is pale sage, and the Shimmer is blush beige, so those three are my easy neutrals.

 

If you want some color, the Canyon Purple has an olive heel sole and the TEX Denim Worn Blue looks like washed denim, so it nearly stands in for a pair of jeans. The Valentine's Day Sierra Red is off-white with red netting. Lace them up in the fitting room and check that the wings and netting sit flat over your instep.

Colorways are how people tell Jordan 4s apart, so I read the midsole and the cage first. That is where the story sits, and it tells you which pair will go with which outfit. The Fire Red was one of the four original 1989 colorways, and the 2020 Fire Red here is white leather with a black cage and red accents.

 

The White Cement from 2025 is white leather with gray speckle, a black wing and red accents, and it is the pair I would wear with light denim. The Military Blue from 2024 is white with blue and gray cement speckle, and the Tour Yellow adds a yellow speckled midsole to navy-gray trim. Those three are the bright, clean ones.

 

The Black Cat from 2025 is all black nubuck with a matching midsole, so it goes with everything and shows scuffs less. The Bred Reimagined is black with red and an aged cement gray midsole, and the Toro Bravo is red suede with gray and black. The Lakers pair is deep purple suede with a yellow Jumpman. Wear it with black and let it be the one loud thing.

 

These classics run in men's sizing, so go down 1.5 sizes from your women's size.

 

What I would skip: a suede pair on a rainy commute. Save the Toro Bravo and the Lakers for dry days.

Check the heel before you check anything else, because the RM is the low-profile version and it sits very differently on the foot. The Air Jordan 4 RM has Max Air in the heel and the wing, eyestay and heel blended into a flexible cage, so it feels lighter than the retros above.

 

The RM Women's in Psychic Blue has a glossy powder-blue cage over gray suede and an ivory base, which I would wear with white trousers. The white and Infrared 23 RM has a translucent cage, gray suede and a black heel. The black suede and mesh RM has an orange midsole accent, and the RM Black Cat is all black suede, the easiest pair here to wear to work with a long coat.

 

The RM PRM NAS is black leather with a gray midsole and white collar, and it is the one with a Nas collaboration story. The RM Pine Green is gray and white with green accents and a gum sole, which looks great with olive cargo pants.

 

Then the Retro SB pairs, the Navy and the Pine Green. They come from a Nike SB collaboration, with a padded tongue and gum sole. The padded tongue makes them softer around the ankle, and I would try them with the socks you actually plan to wear.

I would pick by outfit, not by hype. Start with the pair that matches the clothes you already wear most, whether that is the black suede RM, the Black Cat, or a soft Hemp pair for pale neutrals. Then think about one color to add.

 

The last grid is the extra shelf. It has the Net Rattan, the Forget Me Not, the Orchid and the Off-White Sail in women's sizing, two more RMs in Pale Ivory and Particle Rose and in Sail and Midnight Navy, and two classic 4s in white with a pink midsole and in brown nubuck. Pick one there if you want a color the first three grids did not cover.

 

Try them on at the end of the day when your feet are fullest, and walk on a hard floor. The wings and the cage should not rub, and the heel should not slip.

 

Hatfield said the 4 was meant to be a bit lighter and look a bit different. More than three decades later, that is still the best reason I know to put a pair on. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Purple and Red Outfits and Jordans.