320 TABLE EQUIPMENT

Selecting Dishes. Since dishes are the most important part of
che table setting and the most difficult to select, one usually ac-
quires them first and then looks for other things to harmonize with
them. Whether one buys fine china or simple earthenware dishes,
much care should be given to their selection.

Although it should not be forgotten that American manufac-
turers make as good china as any in the world, it is well for the
sake of variety to acquire some foreign dishes, such as Oriental,
Mexican, or European wares, when they are procurable. Oriental
dishes may be combined with traditional or Modern dishes, making
a transition between the old and the new.

It is sometimes possible to buy seconds or slightly imperfect
dishes in the shops or at the factories where they are made. It is
always advisable to buy a dozen of each kind of dish or glassware
in the table setting, in order to allow for breakage.

Complete sets of dishes are not so popular as formerly. Even
conservative china shops now approve of diversified table service
of harmonious dishes. The service plates, salad plates, and dessert
dishes are often different, but the dinner plates, bread-and-butter
plates, and cups and saucers are usually alike. It is particularly
unwise for a family in a small home to buy a hundred-piece set of
dishes. With a limited budget and limited space for storing the
dishes, the set would probably prevent the purchase of any other
dishes. When interesting possibilities are so numerous, it is un-
fortunate to own only one pattern and color. Then, too, there is
little chance for personal expression in buying a set. It is a dull
and easy solution to a problem that a person with imagination
solves differently.

Dishes should be not too varied, however. Each place at the
table should look exactly like the others, as a rule. Where there
are so many different articles, it is necessary to have this repetition.

The main set of dishes should be purchased from an open-stock
pattern if possible, so that replacements can be made at any time.
It is well to know how long a considered pattern has been used,
as some patterns go out of fashion and the line is discontinued.
The person of average means should-usually buy plain undecorated
china, with fine structural lines, in white, bone-white, off-white,
or cream, like that in the lower picture on page 335,