Is the Stanley Cup the new summer must-have accessory?

In 1913, William Stanley Jr. patented the design of the Stanley brand’s trademarked ‘Quencher’. It was durable, long-lasting and initially designed for the pilots in WWII, which evolved to the general American male demographic and now markets to female clientele. Re-launched with a vibrant makeover in 2019, the Stanley Cup brand was revived and sent into a social media frenzy. Capitalising on the ‘aesthetic’ trend of the VSCO girl, and the uprise in hydro-flask sales, the Stanley company saw an opportunity and have been in mainstream social media ever since.

As much as embellishing the flask is a guilty pleasure to watch, there seems to be no end to how one can personalise their Stanley

So, what do I think?
What I think is the craziest vein of the Stanley Cup TikTok-takeover is the get ready with me (GRWM) trend, but transposed to the Stanley Cup itself. Girls are accessorising and decorating their bottles for ‘hot-girl walks’ or long ‘passenger-princess’ car journeys, but how far is too far when getting your Stanley ready? In my opinion, purchasing the flask is a £40 minimum investment, so the crazy, unpredictable accessories that people are buying alongside the cup elevate its purpose into a multi-purpose bag-like accessory. Some of the accessories I’ve noted from the TikTok GRWMs are utility pouches that are Velcroed onto the bottle fitting, including keys, phones, hand sanitisers, lip products, headphones. Some content creators are filling micro-flasks with a shot of another drink to go in the front pocket of the pouch.

The size of the accessories only gets bigger as some creators are slotting on compartmentalised snack trays that girls have filled with crisps, chocolates and other sweet treats. If that wasn’t enough, there are also snap-on attachments such as coin pots and lip balm holders. Finally, to personalise the cup, some girls have added silicone straw covers and named resin plates which slot onto the lid of the cup. As much as embellishing the flask is a guilty pleasure to watch, there seems to be no end to how one can personalise their Stanley. As the cup becomes less of a water vessel and more of a way of life, the practicality of the cup may be maximised to the extreme, yet the portability of the cup is immediately made difficult as the already big flask becomes bulkier and heavier.

Drinking water is fashionable and trendy now as hydration habits fill our ‘for you’ pages

As I said, the flask is an investment, not only for adults, but toy brands such as Fisherprice, who have filled a gap in the market as they released a smiley, interactive toy cup with a build similar to the Stanley Cup for toddlers. The toy has singing functions, lights, nurtures children’s cognitive development and follows the mainstream trends in the market.

Following the trend, a byproduct of the aforementioned VSCO girl trend, which was big on sustainability, and making drinking water fashionable and trendy, has seen hydration habits fill our ‘for you’ pages. The Stanley Quencher, whilst being portable, is not as compact as say a Chilly’s bottle, especially when adding the accessories. The portability plummets as the cup becomes heavier and potentially hard to balance due to the (theoretical) uneven weight distribution.

Indeed, with this in mind, I have to mention that the Quencher is hugely practical in ensuring that people are consuming their daily three litres of water (the cup holds 1.2 litres so refilling the bottle would ensure that goal is met). It, of course, has a metal reusable straw, which I believe is more encouraging and motivating when drinking anything. The handle on the side increases the carrying practicality, and the cup is insulated keeping drinks piping hot or icy cold. It’s washable, reusable and comes in a vast array of colours.