Fashion

Are you eager to catch the latest fashion trend, or do you prefer to throw on your tried-and-true jeans and t-shirt and call it a day? Or maybe your openness to style trends has changed over the years and you're become more laid-back in your fashion choices.

Many factors can influence whether or not you're interested in fashion and style, including genetics. With an AncestryDNA + Traits test, you can learn more about your DNA's potential impact on complex personality, sensory, and performance traits, for example.

Do You Have an Imaginative Sense of Style?

Are you a fashionista or someone who ignores style trends and aims simply for comfort? While style is subjective, your sense of imagination and openness to the form of self-expression through fashion choices can convey a lot about who you are. Do your fashion picks align with one or more of these common style archetypes?

• Minimalist: You like comfortable, relaxed fits and tend to prefer natural fabrics like linen and cotton in earthy colors.
• Classic: Your style picks tend to be refined, timeless, and tailored.
• Bohemian: You love vintage pieces and fabrics with interesting patterns that tell a story.
• Romantic: Delicate details like lace and ruffles, soft fabrics, and graceful lines define your style.
• Edgy: You're a risk taker who enjoys bold, eye-catching colors and statement pieces like leather jackets.

Whether you're quick to throw on the athleisure wear in a set color palette or your closet reveals a wide range of clothing types, how you style yourself—clothes, hairstyle, eyewear, shoes, makeup, and accessories—can reflect your sense of self.

Outside of uniforms for work, some people stick to a consistent, predictable style or so-called "capsule" wardrobes. Others change fashions like the seasons, donning different hairdos or beard styles and outfit choices to reflect their mood, the occasion, or just to experiment.

There's no right or wrong answer to what your personal fashion sense looks like, but there's no denying that your choices give people an idea of who you are.

Can Genetics Give You a Natural Eye for Fashion?

Research suggests that your genetics can play a small role in determining whether or not you have an interest in fashion. Even if you look at your parents and don't see in them a model for your personal style, the openness to try new trends often persists across generations.

The AncestryDNA team found over 400 DNA markers that may influence your eye for fashion (or lack of interest in it). They came to this discovery after asking over 990,000 people, "Rate your natural eye for fashion," and comparing their answers with their DNA profiles. The scientists used these results to build a polygenic risk score, a statistical tool that estimates how likely a person has a certain trait based on their DNA. In this case, they found that only around 8% of the variation in how people rated their eye for fashion could be attributed to differences in their DNA.

What Else Influences Your Fashion Sense?

Environmental factors like culture play a key role in influencing your fashion choices.

• You might wear certain traditional garments for heritage-related occasions, or you might choose modern pieces that call back to your culture's traditional clothing.
• Your style may reflect what's popular amongst your peers—it can be a way for teens to feel like they fit in, for example.
• You could be influenced by people you admire. Fashion companies often capitalize on the tendencies of people to dress like those they idolize, partnering with celebrities to promote their brand.

Social media has come to play a major influential role in personal style—in terms of clothing, hair, and accessories. A survey of Japanese Gen Zers revealed that 83% got fashion news from Instagram, with 33.7% stating TikTok as their source of trends. And in India, a study showed that Generation Z looks to YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest to discover new fashions.

Fashion trends also swing widely across decades, which likely impacts those with a very strong interest in fashion. On the other hand, those whose preferences aren't influenced by trends are likely to dress in a similar style over time. Still, the way you dress can shift as you enter new stages in your life. As your body matures and changes shape, you might gravitate toward different styles. Getting a new professional job might result in a change in hairstyle, and becoming a new parent might influence you to simplify your style so you can spend time on other tasks.

Fun Facts about Fashion

Your fashion sense may have just as much of an effect on your well-being as it does on others. Your clothing and hairstyle can actually affect your mood, sense of self-esteem, and confidence. It's a phenomenon called enclothed cognition, and it lends credence to the old adage, "dress for the job you want." Wearing a certain "power" tie may boost your confidence, while enveloping yourself with a soft sweater may give you a sense of comfort. Glancing down at a pair of bright or playfully patterned socks might make you smile, whether or not you're the one wearing them.

Curious if your eye for style came from your family tree? Take an AncestryDNA + Traits test and see if you have the markers associated with your interest in fashion or other complex personality traits like self-confidence or a willingness to try new things. If you've already submitted a test, don't forget to check out your results with your Ancestry subscription.