I don’t often do this kind of thing because, frankly, I follow a lot of bloggers who shout out each other week in, week out and it becomes tedious. TE-DI-OUS. It’s all very much a you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours vibe and if I’m brutally honest I often sit back on a Friday, watching all the same old follow Fridays reel through my stories feeling a bit crappy because everyone seems to have blogger besties that they all shout out and I’m like oh hai! It’s that “you can’t sit with us” vibe sometimes and I try not to do that because everyone is awesome in their own way.
All that being said, it IS Wednesday and woman crush Wednesday is a THING, so I wanted to share some female instagrammers that are really inspiring me at the moment, those that I watch on stories and whose feed posts I feel I enjoy or make me a better me. They make me feel less alone, inspire me to be more daring with my choices and educate me, all in different ways.
I also wanted to do something that wouldn’t be just fashion bloggers/grammers, mums or activists. I wanted to give you 5 women because they are amazing in different ways, I think their work deserves a shout, deserves recognition and I feel like we don’t do that enough, it shouldn’t be about reciprocation, it should be about actually being inspired. Right, I’ll stop waffling.
Here goes, 6 women to follow on Instagram, in no order because they are all smashing.
1. Charlotte Jacklin. @charlottejacklin (formerly @bettymagazine)
This woman. I met Charlotte at an event for KitKat a while ago and instantly wanted to be friends with her. She is exactly the way she comes over on screen and I can’t tell you how pleased I am about finding her through the event. She’s one of the founders of Betty Magazine which was a print magazine but she took her work digital and eventually changed her IG name to Charlotte Jacklin. She’s a podcast queen alongside her friend Liv and produces The Fringe of It.
What I love the most about Charlotte is her fashion and style, I can’t express how instrumental she has been in taking this mama of 3 who was feeling a bit meh about fashion and never really shopped beyond George at Asda and has given me the confidence to wear my dresses, try new things and reach beyond my comfort zone. Not only that but she’s someone who is dedicated to educating herself about really important issues like racism, feminism and LBGTQ+ matters, without flooding her feed. I would recommend you follow her for fashion, vintage lifestyle/home décor and a little bit of education. Find her here.
2. Natalie Lee @stylemesunday
I’ve got to say, I am LIVING for Natalie’s feed and stories at the moment. Her style is amazing, yes, but mostly I follow her for her sass, her passion for feminist issues and her #FridayFinger. Seldom do I see a post from her and not want to fist bump her because it’s just so on point. Her Friday finger series is her literally giving the middle finger to different things through the week: the rude people, the societal issues, the attitudes, the trolls – it doesn’t matter, each week I love her stuff more.
At the moment I am LIVING for her sex and female masturbation chat, she is on a mission to get female masturbation to be less of a taboo and to put it out to the masses, especially get it spoken about during sex ed and I am HERE for it. I love it. I love her attitude that we should be in love with ourselves and our bodies because, let’s be honest guys, she’s so right. The only dead certain is that we are stuck with ourselves for life so we might as well fall in love during the process, both physically and emotionally. Find her here.
3. Bex @bexforeverdisney
Oh she just makes me howl. There is nothing ‘inspiring’ or ‘educational’ about her account, it is purely for fun, and it is LIFE. I love it, she reminds me not to take myself too seriously. Bex is so funny, has no filter and does things like mime and dance to random music, discuss Netflix programmes she’s been watching and shares memes galore.
There isn’t that much to say apart from she will have you crying with laughter and we all need a bit of that in our lives. Find her here.
4. Susie Verril @susiejverril
Susie is just so lovely, she’s another one of those women you just *wish* you could be mates with and go for a coffee when the kids are at school. Every time I see her she’s friendly and there to give you a big smile and have a giggle with you. I love the way she portrays motherhood, I feel like her family and relationship vibe is very similar to mine and she makes me laugh constantly, she’s just so funny and very honest. Her fashion inspo is usually on point too!
I blame her for the majority of my recent Zara purchases… and good purchases they were the minx. Find her here!
5. Lauren Gordon @dilan_andme
Lauren is an awesome feminist and passionate advocate for breastfeeding, female equality and isn’t afraid to tackle topics of body confidence, baby loss and female masturbation/sex toys. She’s a huge inspiration and I love her account which just features some of the most amazing photography. I can’t really put much beyond: I love her.
Lauren is also really open and approachable when it comes to issues that others might shy away from like universal credit, separation and single parenthood. It’s not that these topics are “taboo” but that they aren’t glamorous and if there is one thing I’ve learnt about IG its that it coats itself in a veil of glamour, inspiration or pretty that rarely gets pierced. As if these aren’t reasons enough to love her and follow her immediately then I feel like #ThirstyMumsClub could tip you over the edge. Every week she does a club in her stories where followers send her their celeb crushes, sometimes they are weird crushes, sometimes they aren’t but EVERY time they are delicious. I’m all for a bit of objectification on a Tuesday. Find her here.
6. Alex Beard @thewifeofriley
I have become a huge fan of Alex’s stories and her feed, I genuinely think this woman is amazing. Alex is a news presenter, and what I love the most about her account is how she uses it to continue her successful career, adapting it to her own platform. She gives the headline updates every morning in short form on her stories and she’s so engaging to watch, that I have stopped using my Lenovo tab to listen to the news in a morning in favour of her updates. To me this is the ultimate example of how a woman can use social media to maintain family flexibility and still enjoy and grow a career. It’s SO inspiring. If you love your job, you love a career you have worked hard to develop then this just proves that it’s possible to keep it going or develop those skills into something new. Find her account here.
So those are my 6 women to follow on Instagram, I hope you enjoy their accounts. I really could have just kept going and going and going. Women are amazing, and there are so many that are just superstars online – it’s not about their numbers but how they make you feel and how they lift you or hold your virtual hand through the day to day.
H 🙂
