Suri Cruise was pounding the pavement in a pair of sparkling heels, complete with lipstick and handbag, aged just three.

Now research suggests that her passion for heels could be inherited from her 32-year-old mother Katie.

According to Debenhams, balance, poise and choice of shoe is hereditary.

Following a study into consumer trends the department store discovered striking links between a mother and daughter's fashion tastes and their ability to walk in heels.

A total of 92 percent of those related provided matching answers when asked about their perfect choice of shoe from the colour to the style.

Whereas those who were unrelated produced a wide range of answers, showing greater statistical variance.

Natelle Baddeley, head of accessories design at Debenhams, said: 'Whether it’s genetics or training in teenage years, we may never know, but it’s clear that the saying "like mother like daughter" applies to walking in heels.'

A number of famous mothers and daughters have been seen in similar styles, from Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson to Carole Middleton and the Duchess of Cambridge.

It is still unknown if the ability to walk in high heels is down to genetics or honed through practice, but walking tests conducted as part of the research suggest that there may be a maternal link.

It highlighted that 87 percent of mothers who could stride confidently across a room in differing heel heights had daughters who could do the same.

However, mothers with limited heel height skills had passed this deficit onto their offspring.

Miss Baddeley added: 'The correlation was striking. We could almost pick out who were mother and daughter in a crowd just by the similarities as they walked in high heels.

'Even though we now know that a link exists, we still don’t know what causes it.

'Is it genetics? Or do young girls become accustomed to and copy their mother’s tastes in shoes simply by wearing them during “dressing up” as a child?'

With Victoria Beckham's widely-publicised penchant for sky-high footwear, we can't wait to see Harper Seven's style evolve.

(Read by Lee Hannon. Lee Hannon is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)