The Stanley cup is all the rage, but it’s not the is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion, it’s the colorful 40-ounce water vessels that have even caused a riot at Target’s when a limited edition version went on sale. Another version, a Stanley-Starbucks collab cup, was snapped up as soon as it appeared. Some are being bought for personal ownership, some to be resold at sky-high prices.
The Cut reports that Stanleys have become the new status symbols among gen Z’ers and in middle schools, and they are causing havoc and resentment among the student population, especially among the girls. Not everyone can afford the $40 cup and those that can are crowing about the attention they are getting.
“Every day when I get into school at like 7:45 a.m., everybody comes over to me like, ‘Oh my God, I like your Stanley!’ or ‘It’s so cool, I want a Stanley just like yours!'” a 13-year-old, who is in eighth grade, said. “It makes me feel like I’m famous and being swarmed by paparazzi.”
The Stanley cup has become an unlikely status symbol, and as such, authenticity is the watchword: fakes will not pass muster. Jamie Sherman, said her 11-year-old niece was bullied by her classmates for bringing an off-brand version of the cup to her New Hampshire middle school — basically the exact same product, minus the Stanley logo.
“When girls pass her in the hallway, they laugh and point, and they say, ‘That’s not real,'” Sherman said. “Now, she doesn’t want to bring it to school and she doesn’t want to use it.”
The Stanley company has been making insulated cups for 100 years, but their 40-ounce straw Quencher cup blew up in the last few years thanks to a blog called The Buy Guide. The cup became a hallmark of the TikTok “clean girl” aesthetic.
The Stanley reached its peak popularity this holiday season when it seemed to be the most common gift that Gen Z talked about wanting and receiving for Christmas.
The popularity of the cup is even driving some to crime. Cashing in on the fad, a 23-year-old woman was arrested after she allegedly stole dozens of Stanley cups worth $2,500 from a California retail store.
According to the Roseville Police Department, officers responded to reports of a theft at a store in Roseville. Employees told police they saw a woman walking out of the store with a shopping cart full of Stanley cups, without paying for them.
Undeterred when they tried to stop her, she brazenly walked right out of the store with the loot. When the police later caught up with her and pulled her over, they found 65 Stanley cups valued at $2,500.
Like all fads, there is a certain amount of craziness that goes along with them. As illustrated by Dahlia, a middle schooler from Dallas, who says she loves her cup, but has mixed feelings about her newfound popularity. “I wouldn’t say any of them are actually my friends,” she said. “They only talk to me in the morning when I’m holding my Stanley.”
