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I came across this fantastic question (and terrific visuals – check it out!) this morning on “Ursula’s” cool design blog, Candy Colored Buddha:

Is there a STYLE gene?

CC Buddha believes that, “…in addition to special talents and temperaments, quirks and foibles, style is highly genetic.” And this pushed us to think about what we believe in terms of DNA and good taste…

Style is very often inherited. It may be good style, it may be…not so good style. Ivanka Trump is contemporary haute couture because her mama Ivana, is high fashion – baby Trump is doing what she was taught to do. Same goes for country bumpkins and middle class suburbanites. We naturally model who we grew up with, for better or worse.

Some people break free of the mold, some people are blessed to have a family aesthetic that grooves with their true self, and some spend their whole lives dressing like their mother told them to – and feeling like something in their life is just not quite right.

Who knows, maybe the real Ivanka Trump would like to be wearing linen tunics or sporting some rad’ tattoos. (I doubt it. Ivanka seems strongly consistent.) But who really knows? Only you know the shape of your soul.

Which brings us point #7 in our Manifesto of Style:

Pay attention to what attracts you.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask is, what am I drawn to? This question could change your life. Not kidding. This is the fuel for conscious style and intentional living. And here’s where we can put a fine point on the Style Gene theory: conscious people tend to raise conscious people. Remember, the definition of style is, “the way in which something is expressed.” So expressive environments foster expressive kids. Yes, sometimes, style IS in your genes.

And sometimes we grow up in repressed, dimly lit scenarios and we simply have to fight for our right to party with our soul – whether that means studying art instead of going to med school, or wearing leopard prints instead of pinstripes.

Sometimes our spirit is indomitable from a young age (three cheers for all the Black Sheep,) and sometimes the journey to true style is more of a dismantling in adulthood when we wake up to see that we just don’t look like our true selves (three cheers for purging your closets and claiming what you’ve loved all along but forgot!)

It’s also worth mentioning line #10 from our Manifesto of Style:

True style is not dependent on wealth, and wealth does not necessarily create taste. Authenticity is not dependent on funding.

On a budget or on easy street, you owe it to yourself to find a way to be genuinely you.