• Excellent thank-you gifts.
• A locket with 1940s flair — and other luxe gifts we love.
• An (on-sale!) itty-bitty speaker.

By Brittney Ho

Brittney is a newsletters editor at Wirecutter.

• I’ll start with a breezy loungewear cami I recently received. Our experts have tried and loved several pieces from Negative, like this sultry wireless bralette, for instance. I, too, am a big fan, especially of this pretty buttoned top. The silky, lilac fabric feels deliciously cool against the skin — it was the only thing I wanted to wear during last week’s heat wave.
• As much as newsletters editor Isoke Samuel loves NYC, “the ice cream here,” she says, “pales in comparison to the massive scoops of black raspberry chip and caramel cashew crunch that I grew up getting from local Rhode Island creameries.” To rectify: She gifted herself this sturdy ice cream maker, which churns out dense, creamy ice cream faster than any other model our kitchen team has tested.
• Are these salt and pepper shakers — shaped like two hands pinkie swearing — the most practical option out there? No. But kitchen expert Maki Yazawa has been incredibly charmed by the set she was recently gifted. They’d make a lovely table centerpiece or a party conversation starter, aka an excellent housewarming or hostess gift.
• Gifts editor Hannah Morrill has made a major discovery: her favorite T-shirt to wear with shorts. The fabric is rich and hefty but not hot, and she says the crew-neck collar, sleeve length, and crop are “Michaelangelo’s David-level perfect.” (Full disclosure: For our guide to white tees, our style experts tested and dismissed a tee from this brand — they felt it lost its shape quickly for the price. But Hannah’s beloved tee is a different cut and fabric, and, so far, has held up beautifully in the wash.)
• Newsletters editor Erin Neil has been eyeing this luxe Louise Carmen notebook for ages. So her boyfriend really hit it out of the park for her birthday last month when he gifted her a classic black one with her name embossed in red. Très chic! She says: “The leather sleeve makes it feel like the grown-up version of those old plastic diaries that required a voice-activated password to open.” (For those who aren’t quite ready to splurge, our experts love this more affordable traveler’s notebook, too.)
• The understated but intricate embroidery on this extremely lightweight cotton nightgown stood out so much to head of newsletters Sofia Sokolove on a recent farmers’ market jaunt, she impulse gifted it to herself on the spot. “I love how delicate and vintage it looks, without feeling stuffy or too dowdy,” she says. “In fact, it’s so breezy and feminine, it almost feels a little sexy on.” She has been wearing it nearly nightly, and even managed to style it (with a slip underneath) out of the house, too. The exact one she snagged isn’t available online, but now that she has entered her “Victorian lady” era, she’s considering adding this lovely taupe to her rotation, too.