John P. Johnson/HBO; Uniqlo; Melia Robinson/Business Insider
- The vest is the most quintessentially-VC item in a tech investor’s wardrobe.
- San Francisco International Airport is showing it’s on trend with a Uniqlo vending machine that dispenses down vests, possibly for “visiting VCs.”
- We rounded up the best tweets about the vest vending machine at SFO.
San Francisco has reached peak San Francisco with the addition of a vending machine that dispenses down vests at the city’s airport, and Twitter is having a field day.
“SFO has a down vest vending machine for visiting VCs,” Frank Barbieri, a serial entrepreneur, said in a tweet that included a photo of the now infamous machine.
Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1020687562317258752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
SFO has a down vest vending machine for visiting VCs. pic.twitter.com/i0mC6e5Jpu
The vest has become the unofficial uniform for Silicon Valley investors. Venture capitalists can be seen sporting the practical outerwear wherever techies gather, from Blue Bottle Coffee shops to the Battery to the VC offices on Sand Hill Road.
Japanese retailer Uniqlo started selling clothes out of vending machines in airports and malls across the US last year. At the time, these so-called “Uniqlo To Go” machines stocked two of the most popular items from the brand’s “LifeWear” collection: a thermal heat-tech T-shirt ($14.90) and a lightweight down jacket ($69.90) in an array of colors.
It appears Uniqlo has added down vests for the tech set at San Francisco International Airport. The Men’s Ultra Light Down Vest typically retails for $49.90 online.
Uniqlo
Twitter has been roasting San Francisco all week long, and it’s brutally funny.
Here are the best reactions:
Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1020743201924108288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Only Venture Debt partners may rent.Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1020826561493258240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Can you pay a monthly fee for sleeves-as-a-service?Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1020713102659137542?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Shouldn’t it be dispensing Patagonia vests?Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1020707815797608450?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
At first glance I thought that was a vending machine that push a button, invest in a down round of a startupTweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1021203614847520768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Automatic vestingTweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1021130570053562368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Next to the @Allbirds vending machine to complete the look? 😜
We asked San Francisco International Airport and Uniqlo how sales at this particular machine have been, but they did not immediately respond to a request for comment.