I Also wanted white ones. I have a open pantry that I keep them on. At the holiday time they sell large place settings of 6. I bought 2 so I have a setting for 12. I waited until they went on sale at target. Then i have bought separete pieces in white to mix and match.I buy them any where from GW to Macys Good luck

I wonder if all dishes today are made in China? I am also thinking of getting a new set.

I love dishes and have a gorgeous cream colored set and tons of other dishes and serving items from Willow House. I had to turn my large master closet into a storage area for all my dishes. I love layering them and am especially fond of serving salads and such in matching compotes. If I see cute salad plates I go for them as I can mix and match with all my dishes. I also have a collection of different chargers and table cloths. I currently have an older dining table that seats 6 and is rather narrow. I would love to get a bigger table so I can cram more stuff on the table...LOL I like the dishes at ZGallerie and Anthropologie, Pottery Barn, etc. My everyday dishes are Corelle.

Having a basic set of white dishes is always a good idea as you can pair with anything. Macy's and Home Goods are good places to buy too. I try to be sure to get dishes that are microwave, oven, dishwasher safe...keeps me sane. Have fun shopping!!!

I am a big fan of Villeroy & Boch. I have two sets, which I have collected at Marshall's, the V&B outlet and on eBay. They are lightweight and incredibly durable, withstanding daily use by my family for years with no breakage. Because they are thin porcelain, they don't take up too much space, are easy to handle and fit nicely in the dishwasher.

I just bought a set for 8 of Dansk Original Fjord. Solid white with curved sides. Beautiful by itself and lovely with other colored pieces. Bought it at BB&B, saved a ton using their coupons!

I've had this set for years and they are wonderful. They mix well with other, more colorful dishes, they have been in the dishwasher a gazillion times and still look good, my husband says "they hold enough food", and they don't chip or scratch like alot of light colored dishes do. I just ordered another set a couple of months ago:-). The price of these at overstock is unbelievable. I paid WAY more than this for mine by the place setting!

Here is a link that might be useful: Mikasa French Countryside

No dish expert, here, but I do love my new Fiestaware dishes. I have some ivory, a couple of pieces of the new paprika color, and will be adding a brighter color this spring. I also have A LOT of spode blueware in various patterns, which I love, but I was looking for something brighter. (And I love how I can mix "patterned" dishware with the Fiestaware for a completely different look. The Fiestaware is also made in the U.S.A.)

Years ago, I had eight place settings of the Mikasa French Countryside, but I found they chipped very easily, so my experience was quite different from Carol's. She must not be as hard on dishware as we are. :(

bird lover, my husband will be happy you said that, I am always telling him he is like a bull in a china shop :-).. he can literally knock things off the walls while walking through the house and has broken more things in my home than I can count so we can't have anything "precious" here. I have no idea how these dishes have escaped but they have lasted for over 15 years without any chips or cracks! I ordered the new set because he dropped a "few" on our tile floor.

30 years ago, I bought two sets (8 place settings total) of Johnson Bros. white ironstone in a pattern similar to Wedgwood's Queen's Plain for my everyday dishes. Still using them. One or two chips on a couple of bowls, but other than that they are still perfect. I think ironstone is amazing. Wears like...well...iron :)

Macy's has a variety of choices of white dinnerware. They also have some that are 16-pice sets. I have linked to one, but there are other sets and lots that are sold by place setting, although those are more expensive. There are also sets by Gorham, Pfaltzgraff, Martha Stewart, etc. The Hotel collection is very plain.

Here is a link that might be useful: dish set

I have a set of heavy plain white called Cafeware. I bought mine from the now-defunct Linens and Things, but I've seen them sold elsewhere. They are really wonderful, like the best quality, well, cafe ware! In 7 years I've only broken one piece, and they are available on replacements.com

I have learned through myriad sets of dishes, that I like handling thin dishes best. So when the day comes and I buy a new set, it will be porcelain and thin. And in a pattern still being produced so I don't have to hunt ebay for a replacement if something breaks.

I bought plain white dinner plates from Crate and Barrel, then use different salad plates & other pieces with them. Right now my salad plates are emerald green with a raised leaf design. I really like different & varied table linens, & the white plates have done well for me.

Kathleen, that's funny--I logged on just to say that I got a great set at Crate and Barrel!

We got the Aspen set, and love it. I've put the link below. Our set came with lovely shallow bowls that we find ourselves using constantly. They make everything--pasta, soup, salad, fruit--look restaurant quality. We purchased (separately) the deeper Aspen cereal bowls too.

The dishes are very hard to break--and, trust me, I would know! We don't have a dishwasher, so everything is washed (and dropped constantly) in our very hard cast iron sink.

After years of brightly colored dishes, the white is a wonderful treat. We can have ANY placemats my heart desires!

Here is a link that might be useful: Aspen Dinnerware

I bought some Mikasa a few years ago (can't remember the pattern) and while I loved to look at them, I couldn't stand to touch them. There was something about the texture and it made a horrible scraping noise with the silverware.

My every day are some glass plates I bought at Cost Plus. They were cheap and I bought 20 of everything for the 2 of us because we're klutzy. :) For the company stuff I have lots of Blue Danube and other blue and white but that's a different addiction, er, story. :)

A few years ago I bought a set of English Countryside, and they chipped like crazy. Not all pieces chipped; the bowls and cups were fine, because they had a kind of rolled edge. But the plates were terrible. I also found that the plates were oversized, and would not fit in my rather small microwave. The dishes were beautiful, though.

Now I have Villeroy and Bosch Audun. Now I have another problem; the plates have lots of gray marks on the yellow rims. I have no idea what is causing this.

Thanks to all of you for such great advice. This is really hard since I am starting my search online and not being able to handle the plates. I really like the Great White Traditional plates at Pottery Barn but they are rather large, 11.5" ($9 ea.) although PB Catering Plates are 10.5" ($4 ea.) and I wonder if the GWT bowls would match the catering plates??? Do I even want white bowls??? I also like Sur La and Revol Porcelaine, but again I would have to order online without holding them. Crate and Barrel is also in the running but I would have to travel two hundred miles or so to hold them. William Sonoma has some nice plates but pricy. I guess IÂm seeing a shopping trip in the near future! Thanks again.

Have you been to a big department store yet? Macys, Dillards, that's where I would start.

I clicked on carolfm's Overstock link, to see how much they were selling the Mikasa dishes for, and I saw that they had Villeroy and Boch's French Garden stainless flatware for MUCH less than department stores. I have not seen it in person, but all the reviews of VB flatware are very positive, so I took a chance and ordered!

I also love thin china, but wanted white, which I find is often too thick; I ended up with Rosenthal's "Loft" collection, it's sturdy but thin , does not mark, has round and square options for many plates, 3 sizes of bowls, etc...

I'll be outfitting a condo in Florida soon and I'll be buying the same dishes I have at home.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rosenthal online store

Cam, Crate & Barrel sells a lot of their dishes in open stock. Great way to buy a few pieces to see if you'd like a full set.

I like white, the simpler the better but I'm also one that likes to mix and match. I prefer ironstone, Meakin I believe is the maker and McCoy is just as nice. I find alot of those pieces on shopgoodwill.com. I do have a set of everyday from crate and barrel as well. They are simple large plates with a 1/2 inch lip around the edges. Found those on the auction as well.

I have a set of white porcelain that I love. I bought them piece-by-piece at Marshall's 20 years ago, and there isn't a chip on any of them. Food looks beautiful on white plates.

I also have a mismatched set of colored plates and bowls - reds, purples, green, orange, yellow - that I set out deliberately to collect whenever I saw a piece or two on sale. I love to use those with certain meals. Both sets are mixed in my kitchen dish cupboard, and I pair every meal with the right color dish.

Part of the fun of cooking is presentation for me, and I love setting a pretty table. I think you'll love having white dishes.

I am in Canada and I am not sure that this brand is carried in the states because I have never seen it there but perhaps it is carried.
Anyways it is Maxwell & Williams White Basics Cirque Set. I love this set of dishes.

White doesn't have to be boring or cheap - I've found white by Portmeirion, Sylvac, Wedgwood, Vera Wang, Jasper Conran etcetc

Make sure it's china and not pottery.As Mitch said, it doesn't mark, is slow to chip and much lighter than it's pottery cousins.
I bought a new set of Villeroy & Boch when we re-did our kitchen eight years ago. We love it and it sees hard use, but you'd never know it!

You might try Pier I if there is one in your area. They carry two styles of plain white china, a coupe and a rimmed. I've been using their china for more years than I care to count. . . easy to replace if you brake something and they seem to have a sale 3 or 4 times a year . . . plus they are not expensive if you need to buy when not on sale.