Vending machines are already being used to sell shoes, prescription drugs and bicycle parts, and now we can add bathing suits to that list. Thanks to a new initiative from clothing company Quiksilver and hotelier André Balazs, guests at The Standard Hotels will soon be able to shop for swimwear while they're already at the pool.
A specially designed, co-branded line of men's boardshorts and one women's bikini will soon be available not just online and in The Standard Hotels' gift shops but also in what just may be the world's first bathing suit vending machines, located poolside at the hotel's New York, Los Angeles, Hollywood and Miami locations. The first such vending machine will open in Los Angeles on August 8, according to a Luxist post. The Standard/Quiksilver women's black bikini is priced at USD 84; mens' boardshorts—available in four styles, each corresponding to one of the hotel's four locations—are USD 75 and come with a waterproof travel bag. Each pair of boardshorts also includes "a carefully curated list of addresses corresponding to unique groups of destinations near each of the 4 hotels," as the company puts it, "curated and scribbled out by legendary skateboarder and Quiksilver Creative Director Natas Kaupas." The theme for the Miami style suit is "Comida is Cuban"; for the LA pair, it's "Art is Undercover"; for the Hollywood suit it's "Music Musts"; and for the New York style, it's "Summer in the City."
Next, we wouldn't be surprised to see hoteliers teaming up with Solar Energy Vending to give such poolside machines the added eco-allure of being off the grid. After all, where there are pools, there tends to be sun; serve up bathing suits and drinks from a solar-powered machine, and your own place in the sun will be all but assured! ;-)
Website: www.shopthestandard.com
Contact: theshop@standardhotel.com
Spotted by: Luxist via Raymond Kollau
I know some Holiday Inns have had bathing suit vending machines in the pool area for years. They are "throw-away" though--made of Tyvek.
Actually, bathing suits vending machines (selling bathing caps and glasses, too) are widely spread in France, in public pools. And it is quite useful in pools where swim shorts are forbidden or caps mandatory.