I was in eighth grade when the rise of the VSCO girl trend first started to appear. Looking back, many of my peers and I—now seniors in high school—cringe at the thought of the classic shell necklace and scrunchies lining our arms. 

Since then, we have seen many other aesthetics come and go, such as the most recent being the clean girl look, which, for all we know, might also become the punchline of our jokes in a couple of years, similar to how we make fun of 2016 eyebrows and full-coverage makeup. 

With the constant ebb and flow of trends, there always seems to be a list of items you need to purchase in order to achieve such looks. Typically, this includes new makeup, maybe a few staple clothing pieces, or other fashion-related items. 

However, in addition to this long list of beauty demands in order to be “cool,” there always seems to be one more item needed: the water bottle. 

Generally speaking, I wouldn’t think a water bottle would hold much importance to the overall aesthetic of a person’s life. However, when thinking back to birthdays, Christmases, or even my occasional “treat yourself” trip to Target, whenever I received a new water bottle, I was always ecstatic about such a practical gift. 

This thought process led me down a deep hole through the timeline of the “it girl” water bottles of the past decade. 

In my personal experience, the first “it girl” water bottle that everyone was purchasing at the mere age of 12 was the Sip Swell water bottle. I remember very specifically my older sister receiving a turquoise blue Swell water bottle for her birthday when she was in middle school. Her friend had bought it for her, as she had one herself and loved it. After that, I started to notice that a lot of the people around me also had a similar-style water bottle, and I definitely wanted one for myself. 

So, naturally, as a younger sister does, I stole it from my sister for a while; however, eventually, I got my own periwinkle blue Sip Swell water bottle. 

Just in time, of course, for a new trend to emerge: Hydroflasks. 

If you don’t own one personally, then you’ve certainly seen it at school, the gym, sports practice, or literally anywhere. In my opinion, this is the water bottle that has withstood the test of time the most. 

Not only did it survive being bashed through the after-effects of VSCO girls, but it also has been the most-seen water bottle for the past five years. With a large variety of colors, sizes, and a high-quality product overall, it’s worth the hype. 

Or, at least, it has been until now. 

Enter the Stanley cup. 

Over the past couple of months, the new water bottle phase is the Stanley cup. This trend began with TikTok and was often associated with the clean girl aesthetic that I mentioned earlier, but it now has been adopted by seemingly everyone. 

The original version of the Stanley cup is rather large. Its main features that people obsess over are its handle, straw, and ability to fit in most cup holders, despite the size. 

I do personally own this water bottle as well, in addition to all the previously mentioned water bottles—I am easily influenced. 

From my experience, the Stanley cup is best used when I go to work, or out to run errands, but is kind of impractical for your typical school day, as it is too large to fit in a backpack.  

However, since the popularization of this water bottle, the brand has come out with many more styles, some of which would work a lot better for a school setting. 

Speaking from someone whose water bottle cupboard always appears to be overflowing, I hope that Stanley cups stick around just as long, if not longer, than Hydroflasks.