diff --git a/src/ui/theme.c b/src/ui/theme.c
index 22951c24e..223bc04ae 100644
--- a/src/ui/theme.c
+++ b/src/ui/theme.c
@@ -1053,6 +1053,23 @@ create_style_context (GType            widget_type,
   return style;
 }
 
+static inline GtkCssProvider *
+get_css_provider_for_theme_name (const gchar *theme_name,
+                                 const gchar *variant)
+{
+  static GtkCssProvider *default_provider = NULL;
+
+  if (!theme_name || *theme_name == '\0')
+    {
+      if (G_UNLIKELY (default_provider == NULL))
+        default_provider = gtk_css_provider_new ();
+
+      return default_provider;
+    }
+
+  return gtk_css_provider_get_named (theme_name, variant);
+}
+
 MetaStyleInfo *
 meta_theme_create_style_info (GdkScreen   *screen,
                               const gchar *variant)
@@ -1065,10 +1082,7 @@ meta_theme_create_style_info (GdkScreen   *screen,
                 "gtk-theme-name", &theme_name,
                 NULL);
 
-  if (theme_name && *theme_name)
-    provider = gtk_css_provider_get_named (theme_name, variant);
-  else
-    provider = gtk_css_provider_get_default ();
+  provider = get_css_provider_for_theme_name (theme_name, variant);
   g_free (theme_name);
 
   style_info = g_new0 (MetaStyleInfo, 1);