January, as it typically does, sparked a bout of nostalgia and a spike of throwback posts on Instagram. People reminiscing on the simpler times of 2016 has lead me to think more about the trends we’ve left behind, not just in 2016 but over the past few years in general. Whether it be fashion, makeup, media, or a long list of other trends to serve as markers of time, informing us of the moment in time that they exist in. What’s popular or cool informs us, especially on the state of society at the time, and those who are capable of obtaining these items tell us who has status and money. So what, if anything, can serve as a measure of status from yesterday to today? And the answer, while it may sound silly, is water bottles.
The reusable waterbottle has been in use since the 90s with the use of plastic Nalgene bottles. However, you are more likely to associate them with VSCO girls and Hydroflasks, which would make sense because we owe it to them for popularizing the product. I say this because while water bottles have obviously existed for a very long time, it was the late 2010s when there seemed to be a sharp increase in interest in them. As we can see here, the sharp increase in searches noted by Google Trends, where there was a sharp jump in popularity, aligns with the VSCO aesthetic. These girls made their personal style and interest in both bright colors, oversized t-shirts, and ocean conservation unanimous with the brand Hydroflask. The bottle became an accessory, a $30 to $50 accessory. Despite the high price point, it was just accessible enough for the everyday person to want to get their hands on it.
The Hydroflask does have its predecessors like the Yeti and the Takeyia, but those pale in comparison to the beast that is the Stanley Cup. The Stanley is a 40oz beast of a bottle and is marketed as being made for life. These bottles are heavy-duty, insulated and made to withstand the abuse of the day to day. So you’d think that you only need to buy it once, right? The answer is no. The reason these bottles have become so popular is because of the large collections or hordes that people show off online, and if an individual bottle can cost anywhere from $50 to $70 id hate audit a whole collection. Additionally, what stands out to me about this brand in particular is the effort they put into marketing their product. Not only do you need your average Stanley cup, but you also need the Wicked collab 40oz and the limited edition LoveShackFancy 30oz.
We move into 2026 with the Owala craze( and yes, if you are wondering, I do have one myself). It isn’t bad to own a waterbottle, it isn’t bad to own more than one waterbottle. But your bottles and your collections do mean something. The bottle itself is a symbol of awareness for what is or isn’t cool(the Hydro Flask or the Owala) and is a benchmark or fee to buy your membership into the in-group. It’s grown past its original purpose of just being a bottle, a tool for conservation, even. The reality is that it’s a moving benchmark; the cycle forces you to buy a new bottle every year if you want to keep up with everyone else. I don’t think its to far off to say that the market may have even contributed more to the waste problem it intended to resolve. So I encourage you to make 2026 the year of the final water bottle. I’m sure you have one at home.