I've been happy with Mikasa's Italian Countryside. The plates are large, though...check your dishwasher rack height. :)

Pam

check out Revol porcelain ware. made in France. 200+ years of tradition. reasonably priced.

Sur La Table carries them.

We love our white porcelain Culinary Arts Cafe'ware. I first saw it online after a recommendation for it I read on this forum, but then found it (on sale yet) at our local Fred Meyer store (Krogers). :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: My dinnerware on Target's website

Raced around to various Zellers picking up 2 for 1 Corelle open stock of Square Pure White for her day to day dishes post reno 2 weeks ago - finally got her to swear off the cheapy earthenware (to heavy and awkward). What I like best about Corelle in addition to how easy it is to handle is if you break one you can drop in at the hardware store and pick up a replacement without any problems. Not a fan of the patterns as they do fade and change.

For good she has Royal Doulton Tangent which is an everyday set - nice and simple plain white. I am listed on quite a few of those out of stock china sites as I would like to get her up to 8 place settings from 6 but so far no luck. Not sure if RD is still doing everyday sets but this one has held up well.

Good luck with your search.

Corelle Square Pure White
{{!gwi}}

She only likes china mugs so the open stock is great, she got the smaller bread and butter plates 2 for 1 instead and splurged on the little fruit bowls which we could only find for regular price at the Wal-Mart.

I too have Mikasa Italian Countryside and I love it!

For our "good" every day dishes we have pottery barn/pb white:

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p3331/index.cfm?pkey=cdinnerware%2Dwhite

For our every day dishes we went with clear/crate and barrel/colette, and they are great as they are thin/sit flat, fit in our cabinets well and well... I just love them... had to wait a few months till they went on sale as I refuse to pay full-price for anything, but they did. They look better washed/at home than in the store. Only issue is they don't have matching mugs:

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=60&f=13208

I have Villeroy and Boch New Wave collection that I purchased from Macy's over time when they were on sale I also have a few pieces of Apilco plates from Williams Sonoma and love that too. My sister has the White Pottery Barn collection and loves it. Reasonably priced!!!

Good luck!

Does anyone have Mikasa Antique White? It got good reviews like the Italian Countryside, but I could not find where anyone described the color. I was hoping someone here would own it. The style is a little similar to the Willians-Sonoma.

Thank you for all of your suggestions. Jane

Check out Crate and Barrel. I've had mine for nearly 10 years, HEAVY use. I know mine is discontinued - I think it's Cafe or something. But, they have a pretty good selection of white...

Here is a link that might be useful: Crate and Barrel White Dinnerware

I've got a set of Red vanilla Pure Vanilla bone china that I picked up at Tuesday Morning about a year and a half ago. It's really nice and sturdy and not that expensive. Has worn very well. I'm planning on getting more for Christmas.

Jane, I don't have Mikasa Antique White but was looking at it not too long ago. Some time ago I gave our French Countryside to our daughter and have since wanted to go back to a white set. I can't remember the color especially except that I liked it, which means it's similar to French Countryside's warmish white and not a grayish white. One thing I liked about it is that it's china, and although very similar in pattern to FC, which is stoneware, it's lighter in weight, and also smaller (the days when I could load up those big plates and not see the results in the mirror are long gone). The lines of the pattern are crisper and strike me as just a bit more "modernly" drawn than the stoneware's. Of course I don't know how it wears, but FC was our family set and never got a chip that I can recall in well over a decade of constant use. Hope this helps.

I'm with homepro01.... Villeroy & Boch New Wave. Oh my gosh it's gorgeous! I did the same thing too... waited for them to be on sale at Macy's. Normally the dinner plate alone is $44. I got the whole set for 50% off PLUS they matched a sale Amazon.com was having (buy two get one free). I saved thousands. All in all I bought about $3000 worth of gorgeous china for just under $700 (service for 8, all the pieces).

Other manufacturers have *tried* copying their white square plates, but no one comes close. Hope this helps, and good luck in your search!

There's a link below if anyone is interested. They're on sale right now manufacturer-direct for 50% off!

Here is a link that might be useful: Villeroy & Bach New Wave

If you want some really great stuff at a reasonable price (who doesn't in this economic climate), head to a restaurant supply store in your city. You can find all sorts of great white dinnerware in varying prices. Most of them will be very cheap, but solidly made, and in different styles. Especially if you want some great French bistro-style ware, you can find it at a supply store, where the restaurants shop themselves.

Also, check out the cookware...you can get All Clad type aluminum core/stainless saute pans for a fraction of the price of the regular stores. This is the same stuff the real pros use, not the "pro-style" department store expensive knock-offs.

We've used out Johnson Brothers dishes (Richmond White) at every meal for the last 15 years. It has an antique feel, with an embossed trellis design, so the wear doesn't seem as noticeable. Still good enough for us, but need to get something better for company. Alas, Johnson Bros. dishes made in China now as well.

I forgot to mention that I've seen piles of nice old dinnerware at my local thrift store. I am looking around at some antiques stores as well. I know i can get much higher-quality china at a much better price than this newer junk.

Bone china is the strongest and lightest. It is considered a type of porcelain, which is next down. Ceramic and stoneware are the least sturdy, but that depends on the particular manufacturer, as they vary a great deal. I think the main negative is that they tend to be heavy, plus they chip, especially when you grab a handfull of dishes at a time from the dishwasher.

I have used Villeroy and Boch bone china for 20+ years and it is truly very strong. I had a number of pieces fall on my tile floor of my old home and just bounce! I looked for over a year before I found this pattern discontinued at a V&B outlet store where I was able to get it for about $22 a place setting. Are there any V&B, Mikasa or other outlet stores nearby? Haunt their clearance areas regularly and get on their mailing list (which usually includes a % off coupon) for sale dates.

That said since you don't want to spend much right now, you should keep a keen eye on ads near your home. Within the last two weeks, I saw china sets of 8 at Macy's and Penney's. They both originally listed for about $100, but after the sale and assorted coupons were applied, they came down to about $40. (I was actually looking to get a set for my son who just recently moved into a new apt)

Other than the serving pieces that come with your set, do not bother with trying to match everything. I got everything available in my bone china set, and I rarely use it together anymore. With the whole table set exactly the same, it actually can look quite boring. White china looks gorgeous with serving pieces in accent colors or designs. You can get many of these at great prices in department store clearance rooms, Home Goods, or TJ Maxx.

I have Williams Sonoma Everyday Dinnerware. It's sturdier looking than their Alpilco line, but not as rugged looking (i.e. diner-esque) as their Buffalo china. Oven and broiler safe. As far as I know it's only available online or thru the catalog.

Here is a link that might be useful: Williams Sonoma Everyday Dinnerware

I have some bone china quarter plates from C&B - Anna I think it was, or something like that. Very nice. At their outlet store, I went to find more bone china dinner plates but found a "new" bone china (i.e. calcium, not bones or bone ash, added to the porcelain clay to make it) from a Swedish company called: Design House Stockholm. I LOVE these plates - blond white are the ones I have. (Here is the website but the site is scripted not linked, so can't link to the exact page. Select: Products->Table Top-> Blond White (hover over a graphic to see the name appear). I decided I wanted more of them and wound up ordering from the website. I also have their creamer and sugarier.

The products are *generally* hand made by local Scandinavian artists and feature in MOMA also. Depending on where you find them, they may be pricey or they may be ridiculously inexpensive. But I do love these plates.

I have White Pearl by C&B. It is bone china, made by Nikko. Very simple but traditional as it has the single row of tiny raised "pearls" around the rim. It has the bone china translucency but goes in the DW and is quite durable. I have had it for over a year and I really do love it. Priced a little higher than porcelain but still reasonable and a good value, I think. And you can always add more as it is sold open stock.

I have Rosenthal's Thomas Loft Circle, it's not thick but very sturdy, and does not get grey marks at all. It's reasonably priced and you can incorporate square pieces in the mix, I added small square plates for appetizers and desserts.
I like the fact that the boxed set for 4 comes with mugs, not cups and saucers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thomas Rosenthal

I also have Rosenthal China, although my line was fairly expensive. I think it's called "Century White", and I believe they don't make it anymore. The rims have a subtle white-on-white pattern. If I had to do it over, I might not get it. On the one hand, I absolutely love it. The Rosenthal is gorgeous, and just touching the dishes you can feel the quality. The cups and saucers and serving dishes are exquisite and make my table beautiful. They have stood up beautifully over a several years' use, and still glow under my dining table chandelier. But I am always nervous someone will drop a dish. I kinda wish I had something inexpensive from Target or Crate & Barrel that I wouldn't care about so much. So, a mixed review from me. If I had the storage space, I'd have my Rosenthal, and then also, my Target.

I have the Mikasa Antique White set and love it. It's reasonably priced (service for 8 plus some serving pieces is about $160 from Amazon.com) and is simple enough as an everyday dish, but nice enough to serve when guests are over. It's not a pure white... more ivory colored.

Thank you all for your advice. It gives me a lot to check out. I would like 'white', but I really like the pattern of Mikasa Antique White. I think I will go shopping tomorrow and see what I can find.

Thanks again. Jane

PS: One last question, if I would chose a plain white plate in porcelain or bone china, is there one for everyday use, and can you tell when looking at it and holding it that it is quality dinnerware?