I don't think this post really answers the question. It tackles it more from the angle of "If you come across the theme without knowing about Svbtle, is it okay

I don't think this post really answers the question. It tackles it more from the angle of "If you come across the theme without knowing about Svbtle, is it okay to use the theme?" That's fine of course. You can't be blamed for not knowing about what is still a relatively small network. The more important thing is what you do now. You now know that the theme was made to copy exactly the design of a network which is attempting to create a curated community, but it's very obviously a good design by itself. It's your own choice whether or not you're happy with that. People will agree and disagree with you either way, but isn't that the point of a personal blog?