Fashion

I don’t have an Instagram theme and I bloody love it

Sophie

Gingham smock dress

Instagram is a wily beast, isn’t she? One minute you’re all pleased with yourself because you’ve posted some killer outfit and avo toast shots and gained 20 followers in a day (I’m a newbie blogger, so scale up where appropriate) and the next you’ve somehow lost 30. I don’t like to moan – lol, I definitely do – but for someone whose following is still in the hundreds, it’s a pretty demotivating affair.

There are lots of things I absolutely hate about Instagram, but there is one in particular that causes me no grief, and that is the theme. The reason for this is because I don’t have one, and that’s just the way I like it.

Smock dress with black espadrillesSmock dress and espadrillesGingham dress with tie up sleevesDress – New Look | Espadrilles – H&M | Sunnies – Primark | Watch – Olivia Burton

Putting my marketing hat on (that’s what I do for my day job, have we discussed this before?) a theme should really appeal to me, and in many ways I do think it would help with growth. A theme gives your account consistency and focus and allows you to develop a look, feel, and subject matter for your blog’s brand. It means that when someone looks at your page the flow of images is visually appealing (hashtag gridgoals) and gives a very obvious reflection of what your blog or account is about and what sort of images they can expect if they follow you, which they are probably then more likely to do.

I also feel it can mean that when a genuine user follows you, they are more likely to stick around, because you’ll continue to post the same type of images that drew them there in the first place. Makes sense, right? And it’s completely fair enough. Follow things that you’re interested in, there’s no point doing otherwise – and if an account no longer makes you tick, get rid.

New Look gingham dress

So even though I agree with all of that, why don’t I theme my instagram?

I’ll tell you; firstly, I haven’t got time. I can’t even imagine how much effort it would take to stick to a perfectly curated theme (massive respect if you manage to do this, it literally blows my mind) and as writing time is hard to come by anyway, I’m not going to sacrifice that for Insta. I’m a lazy cow is what I’m trying to say, and I often get low on content to post at all, let alone content which is all the same colour scheme or works perfectly together.

Secondly, I want to enjoy it. This is not my job, it’s a way of sharing things that I love, and those things don’t necessarily ‘fit’. I would say my taste in many things is varied; I like a distressed jean as much as I like a frou frou prom dress, I like green juices as much as I like burgers, and I like travel involving exotic beach locations and Nordic landscapes alike. I appreciate that classic clean white or neutral aesthetic as much as the next person, but I also love photos bursting with colour like rows of vibrant houses and huge fields of Norfolk flowers – I’m even partial to the odd moody shot here and there.

I would be really frustrated if I felt I wasn’t able to post images that I really love because they didn’t work with my theme, or ended up having to publish images which I didn’t even like that much just because they worked in the grid. I’m not saying this is what themed accounts end up doing, rather that it’s what I would end up doing.

GIngham dress with espadrillesBlack gingham dress

Thirdly, having a theme is no guarantee of good content. ‘Good’ in this sense has very little meaning anyway, which is exactly what I’m trying to say; this is all subjective. In my opinion as a user; an account having a theme doesn’t mean they’re always going to post something interesting for me to enjoy on my feed. No shade here people, just an observation from my mind according to my taste. I see and follow so many themed Instagram accounts which post varied, beautiful content and still have STUNNING themes. I’ve also seen a couple which, presumably in the quest for consistency (not really the coolest of quests I must say, I prefer the quest to save Middle Earth), essentially just post the same photo everyday.

And lastly, I think that when you just focus on posting photos that you love even if those things are hugely varied, a style or a mix of certain styles emerges anyway. It’s not necessarily a ‘theme’ as such, but it reflects you or your blog and happens completely naturally.

And on that note, here are some outfit photos. I’ve never shot against a green wall before, but I’m sure these will go fantastically in my mishmash of a grid, so why the hell not!

Do you have an instagram theme? If you do – kudos, you clever, dedicated thing – and if not – still kudos, I’m sure you’re doing great. Do you follow accounts for their theme or is it something else which makes you want to follow?

Gingham dress and espadrillesBlack H&M espadrillesGingham dress and black espadrillesNew Look gingham smock dress

Photos: Rob Poor

I’m a sociable gal, so I’d love it if you followed me on Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin

Published by Sophie

58 thoughts on “I don’t have an Instagram theme and I bloody love it”

    1. Thanks lovely 🙂 You are so right, it’s all over the place at the moment especially with followers, really difficult. Love what you said about the personality too, that definitely plays a part in if I follow someone as well! xxx

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  3. I love this dress on you, you look absolutely beaut, if only we lived closer together I feel like we could merge our wardrobes and have the ultimate gingham wardrobe of dreams haha! I don’t have an Instagram theme pretty much for the same reasons as you – I don’t have the time to think that much into it and I want to enjoy it – I’d never want to feel like I couldn’t post something!
    Amy xx
    http://www.callmeamy.co.uk

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    1. Pahaha that would actually be excellent, we truly would have the ultimate gingham wardrobe! Yeah that’s exactly it, maybe if I had more time I would plan it a bit more? Who knows! xx

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    1. Yeah I’d definitely feel like that too – if I had an image I really wanted to share but had to wait until whatever day so it looked perfect next to whatever else I’d just get bored! x

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  5. Soph!

    Firstly, adore this dress and this suite of photos!

    Secondly, could not agree with you more! Sometimes I find myself getting so caught up in the Instagram world whether it be numbers, or themes, or photo quality. And it can make this whole hobby feel like a dead-set chore sometimes! Cause I constantly compare (even though I know I shouldn’t).

    I have just added you! Count that you have a new and REAL follower in me! ❤️😊

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    1. Ahh thank you so much – I totally know what you mean, its so easy to get caught up in instagram and comparison but its just not useful to let it suck you in. Thanks for reading 🙂 x

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  6. No theme from me – I would find it way too restricting / harder to find photos! I just snap as I like, edit the same (for ease really!) and I’m all about a massive caption – but that’s becuase I’m never short of words!
    Good post!

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  8. Excellent reasoning here, Sophie! I don’t have an Insta theme either – like you say, it’s probably fantastic for growing your following but it’s sooooo much work! I much prefer just to post things that appeal to me, it’s a lot more fun! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

    Abbey 😘 http://www.abbeylouisarose.co.uk

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    1. Thanks Abbey – yeah it definitely seems like it would be a crazy amount of work and that work takes a lot of time too! Thank you for reading and commenting 🙂 xxx

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    1. Haha yep that sounds like it would be easier than a colour scheme or anything like that – well done you for maintaining two accounts, what a star! x

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  11. Love this post! I’m totally hearing you girl! I don’t have a theme either and that’s exactly how I like it. Maybe if blogging was my full time job I would think differently but the fact is I struggle to come up with content on a daily basis let alone try to theme it! I just use the same 3 filters and hope for the best. 🙂 Really enjoyed reading this post and BTW your dress and espadrilles are sooo lovely!

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    1. That’s definitely the same as me too – it’s really hard to come up with content on a daily basis alongside a full time job! The ‘hope for the best’ method is the one I am using too haha. Thanks so much for reading! xxx

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  14. I completely agree with many of your views here. I am completely useless when it comes to instagram, I would love to be able to use it to grow a following and my blog but I just can’t do it. I just like to use it to post things that I love and never would I ever be able to stick to a theme, I like variety way too much 🙂 xx

    Ps. Loving your gingham dress 🙂

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  15. I have an Instagram theme but it’s definitely SO hard maintaining it sometimes! Lately I’ve tried getting a bit more relaxed with it, but have then ended up deleting photos later because they didn’t fit (I know, I hate myself for doing that too!) but let’s see, I might get there one day! Out of all the social platforms, I love Instagram the most, and I just don’t want to lose the joy in doing it! x

    Ps. I LOVE that dress! ❤

    Laura // Middle of Adventure

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    1. Haha I have totally deleted a photo or two before as well, that was mostly just because I realised I didnt even like the image but put it on there because I had nothing to post, so I’m sure we’ve all done it! Your theme is beautiful and so well done, love the colours – I’m so impressed how you manage to maintain it but also get some variety in there, it must be a lot of work! Instagram has always been my favourite social platform too although it is starting to annoy me so much at the moment because it seems so difficult to make any progress. Thanks for reading lovely 🙂 xx

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  17. Well done to you for giving the middle finger salute to the system, girl! I really do admire people who don’t follow the mould and I completely understand that seeing account after account with a theme, it gets boring!

    whatevawears.co.uk

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    1. Thanks Jacob! Haha I can still definitely appreciate a good old instagram theme when it’s done well, and totally get the appeal – its just not something I have the time or resource to do myself! Thanks for reading 🙂 x

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  20. I totally agree with this! Sometimes I think I need to plan my posts better so my page looks more consistent but I just don’t have the time! I also try to be as real as I can and in reality, life isn’t perfect so why should my Instagram be?! I think it’s okay to be a little sporadic sometimes. It keeps things interesting!

    -Chelsea
    http://www.chelseacalifornia.com

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    1. Oh I definitely know what you mean, sometimes I think oh maybe it would have been better in that order but there is no way I would have the time to plan it! You’re right though, it does keep things interesting! 🙂 xxx

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    1. Ahh same girl, I like to put lots of different things on there too! I’m loving espadrilles this summer. Thanks for reading 🙂 xxx

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  27. Pretty sure I don’t have an Instagram theme, I do like to subtly run a different colour through my grid through photos sometimes but I think that’s more something I do for myself rather than anyone else- I just think it looks cool!

    Julia // The Sunday Mode

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    1. I just saw your insta – it’s beautiful! I actually see so many themed instagrams I love, it’s just that I can’t do it myself because of time/resource/indecisiveness. Love the simplicity and cleanliness of some of your photos, they’re gorgeous! xx

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  29. Whilst I love an aesthetically pleasing, themed Instagram account as much as the next person, I find it refreshing to see accounts that follow your approach as they have a bit more personality. I’ve just started out with blogging so my Instagram feed is a mish-mash of pictures from my blog and everyday life. Love your writing style by the way, and that dress! Where’s it from? x

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    1. Ahhh I’m sorry I have no idea how I only just saw this…thank you so much for such a lovely comment – the dress is from New Look, it was a £9 bargain in the sale! I completely feel you with the mish-mash of photos, that’s definitely me too; but same as you, I love an account with personality so I don’t think it matters at all 🙂 xxx

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  30. Whilst I love an aesthetically pleasing, themed Instagram account as much as the next person, I find it refreshing to see accounts that follow your approach as they have a bit more personality. I’ve just started out with blogging so my Instagram feed is a mish-mash of pictures from my blog and everyday life. Love your writing style by the way, and that dress! Where’s it from? x

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