Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas That Are Actually Cool

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Shopping for Valentine’s Day can be tricky. On one hand, it’s the most cheeseball of cheeseball holidays. Lingerie, chocolate, and flower retailers shift their marketing gears into overdrive, and even regular stores seize the opportunity to sell you on anything pink, red, purple, or printed with tiny hearts.

But on the other hand, Valentine’s Day is also a nice excuse to remind the person you love that you appreciate them. If you’re planning to express that sentiment in the form of material objects, you don’t need to go with the status quo of complicated lacy garments, overpriced chocolate, or heart-print boxers. We’ve got a few suggestions for non-lame gifts that will probably be met with more excitement, for both guys and girls.

The best gifts to receive are the things you’d really love to own but wouldn’t buy yourself without a great excuse. So we stacked our picks with exactly those kinds of little luxuries: splurgy candles and jewelry, really nice T-shirts, actually cool lingerie, and gift sets from beauty brands everyone loves, like Aesop.

Grid View

Expand

• Byredo Safran Candle, $80
• Komono Estelle Blush Watch, $99
• Sleepy Jones Marina Pajama Shirt, $158
• In God We Trust Sweet Nothing Necklace, $40
• Lonely Lingerie Winona Underwire Bra, &90
• Lonely Lingerie Winona Brief, $60
• Want Les Essentials Kenyatta Dopp Kit, $325
• LHN Jewelry Plain ID Bracelet, $125
• CJW Brunch Giant Scarf, $225
• Catbird Friendship Bracelet, $46
• Grown Alchemist Intensive Hand Cream, $27
• Glossier Four Flavored Balm Dotcoms, $40
• Madewell Wave Cuff Bracelet, $28
• Modern Mud Ring Dish, $40
• Three Potato Four 10x10 Letter Board, $51.60
• Morse Code Jewelry Custom Personalized Necklace, $59
• Tom Dixon Alloy Scented Candle, $110
• Bing Bang Pearl Open Hoops, $78
• Leigh Luna Custom Braille Bracelet, $79
• Fresh Vitamin Nectar Face Mask, $62
• Jungmaven Organic Tee, $42
• Saturdays NYC Bi-Fold Wallet, $195
• Catbird Chained to My Heart Necklace, $288
• Modern Sprout Spring Garden Seed Kit, $12
• Grana Cashmere Pullover Hoodie, $149
• Blind Date With a Book ($16.95)
• Anna Sheffield Not to Be Ring, $1,100 Photo: Anna Sheffiel
• Clare V Simple Tote ($325)
• Cuyana Two-Tone Baby Alpaca Scarf ($150)
• Fellow Barber Shave Regime Kit ($64)
• Herbivore Pink Clay Beauty Set, $45
• Putnam & Putnam Earl Grey Candle, $75
• Carla Colour Barton Sunglasses, $165
• Comme des Garçons Pocket Perfume Collection (Unisex), $245
• La Ligne Classique Knit, $165
• Modern Weaving Abstract Stacked Loop Earrings, $135
• Aesop The Avid Explorer Gift Set, $112
• Kindred Black Hand-Blown Perfume Bottle, $45
• Madewell Lace Liana Triangle Bra, $32