City Chronicles No. 1 - Red Theory, Leather Jackets, and the Magic of Matching Without Trying

They say red is the color of power. Of seduction. Of confidence. I say red is the color of me.

It’s been my favorite color for as long as I can remember - not because of what it does for others, but because of how it makes me feel. Strong. Sure of myself. A little dangerous, but in a good way. And yet, even with my long-standing love affair with all things crimson, I’ve always wondered… Is the Red Theory actually true?

If you’re unfamiliar, it’s this viral idea floating around the internet - that wearing red makes you more attractive, more magnetic, more likely to catch a stranger’s eye across the bar. The theory says it’s biology. Psychology. Evolution. Or maybe just a really good excuse to buy another red dress.

I haven’t fully decided where I stand on it yet. But last weekend, something happened that made me look at it a little differently.

It was a typical night in New York. Cool air, plans made loosely, eyeliner thrown on in a rush. I was meeting my girls - a crew of smart, chaotic, beautiful women who all live completely different lives. We’re in tech, PR, finance, writing… and somehow still manage to find time to align our Google calendars and our moon phases for drinks.

No one texted about what to wear. No one asked for outfit approval or dropped a Pinterest inspo. We just showed up. And somehow… We all showed up in the exact same thing. Black leather jackets. Jeans. Gold hoops. Black boots or sneakers. Like we had all stepped out of the same effortlessly cool fever dream or biker gang session.

At one point, someone asked if we were all sisters. Another person - with the kind of boldness only tequila can inspire - asked if we were the same person. I think we just laughed. But there was something about it that stuck with me.

Here we were - different jobs, different upbringings, different tax brackets - but somehow, we were in sync. And we didn’t even try to be. That was the magic of it. No performance, no planning, just pure, accidental alignment.

That’s when it hit me: maybe Red Theory isn’t about red at all.

Maybe it’s about energy. Maybe it’s the way we carry ourselves when we feel grounded - in who we are, in who we’re with, in what we’re growing into. Maybe the most attractive thing about a woman has nothing to do with the color she’s wearing and everything to do with the fact that she knows exactly who the hell she is. Especially when she’s walking down the street with the women who remind her of that fact.

New York can be a lonely place, even when you’re surrounded by people. The pace, the pressure, the noise - it’s easy to forget what your own voice sounds like. Which is also the positive side of it as well. Everyday is a chance to be the somebody you desire to be. But then there are moments like this: late-night laughter on a street corner, arms linked with women who feel like mirrors, shivering bodies because the jackets were for fashion and not warmth . Friends who hold space for your chaos and your evolution. Who show up to the bar looking like your soul sisters, even if none of you got the memo.

So no, I didn’t wear red that night. I didn’t have to.

I wore history. Humor. Confidence. A jacket I’ve had since college and silver hoops that make me feel like the version of myself I want the world to remember. We didn’t need to plan it - we were the moment, in full sync and alignment. Not because we were dressed to impress, but because we weren’t trying to impress anyone at all.

Maybe the real theory is this: Magnetic women don’t dress to attract others - they dress to reflect themselves and on occasion each other with no intention. They move together. Grow together. Show up, again and again, with open hearts and - sometimes -matching jackets.

And whether we were turning heads because of Red Theory or just good taste… I think we proved the point either way.

- Ava