I just found out (from Wikipedia) that Corelle was only introduced in 1970. Maybe we are seeing it slowly replace china. Traditions die hard, so you wouldn’t expect this to be an instantaneous process. Picking out wedding presents for people you don’t know all that well is difficult, so I can see why especially some older people would like having a go-to present like china to give. I’ve even seen some people get upset at seeing things that aren’t really traditional wedding gifts on wedding registries, even if there is also more traditional stuff there 
, so clearly some people feel strongly about tradition and wedding gifts.
I would love to own good china. Right now after 8 years of blended familial bliss with husband number three, we have moved into a farm house with a built in china cabinet to display some beautiful pieces. I’m also a proponent of the “nice” living room up front that no one sits in unless company comes over and the hand towels in the bathroom that are not used. Hubby #3 and I were both raised that way and someday we’re going to be those kind of grandparents I guess.
However, hubby’s young ones were not raised that way as I discovered early when I noticed one of them had wiped ketchup off themselves using those delicate hand towels. Such barbarity of their early upbringing foreshadowed their eventual career/life choices, which no amount of love and attention from my part was able to dissuade.
Do tell; what are they, common laborers?:eek:
Aaah, the ‘fancy’ china and silver. Being an incurable tomboy, I was made to attend deportment classes. I can still remember being instructed on what occasions it was appropriate to use one’s china and silver and crystal. lol Wow, what a different world it was back then.
We were told that you needed a good set of china, silver, crystal etc. for inviting the boss and wife over for dinner, for family holiday dinners, christenings, receptions, debutante balls, etc.
And yes, the purpose of displaying said items was to show that you’d ‘arrived’ and could afford nice things. We were strongly encouraged to start collecting our place settings and silver pieces as soon as we got our first ‘little jobs’. It was all to be put in our hope chests (another lost concept, I think), so we’d have a head start on all those ultra-competitive other young Junior Leaguers when we set up our first household as a newlywed.
I do have my china and silver and crystal. The china was handed down from my grandmother, but the silver and crystal I bought myself, along with some help from wedding and shower gifts. I do display it. And I do use it. But not for any of the occasions listed above. I pull it out whenever any sort of company is coming. I just love the way a beautifully set table looks and how the heavy silverware feels in my hands. Yup, it’s work washing it all up by hand, and I do worry I’ll break a piece from this long-discontinued pattern I could never replace. But I have no daughters to save it for, so I’m going to get some enjoyment out of it.
Oh, and I wear the ‘good’ perfume, too. Every darn day! lol
It used to be much more of a “thing”, though I’m 52 and when my contemporaries were getting married, at least for the first time, 30-odd years ago, almost all of them registered for good china and good silver.
I have a fair bit of family silver- going back to the 1890’s. Mismatched sure, but it feels nice to hold an olive spoon from Germany from the early 1900’s that my Great-Grandmother used. To serve olives. Next to the Rhine. 
So. An amusing related story to the O.P.'s question.
When I was in college, a dear friend who had been raised as an Orthodox Jew had a problem. She was moving in with a gal who lived in the deeply religious area along Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, NY. My friend had dishes, which her parents had bought for her. A lovely and quite complete set. She’d only used them a bit before her housing situation changed and she was preparing to move.
Thing was… she didn’t keep Kosher. And her new roomie most surely did. The dishes my friend had were not Kosher, since they’d been used for both meat and dairy. She despaired having to ship them from NYC to Vancouver, B.C. where they would have to sit untouched for some amount of years before they were considered Kosher again.
Alternately, my friend and her roommate to be talked about taking the entire set to Coney Island and performing a ritualistic cleansing in the ocean water. WITH EACH DISH, BOWL AND PLATTER. Apparently prayers could be said as they were washed in salt water that would make them once again pure, and allowed to be used in a home where Kosher laws were observed.
My pal didn’t want to do either, and I offered to buy the entire set off of her for something like 50.00. ( This was in the summer of 1982, and I am guessing that whole set cost her parents at least 150-200.00 ).
I bought the set, wrapped each item in a sheet of the New York Times and put the stuff into two large suitcases I bought at the Salvation Army store.
And took them to my parents house when I got the chance.
And left them in my bedroom closet. Where I lived in the summertime between college years.
3 years later, I got engaged. And was moving in with my fianceé.
When clearing out my old bedroom, she came across the two large and quite heavy suitcases in the closet. When I opened them, she was just dumbstruck.
Because it didn’t occur to me that we should use them instead of buying other dishes to use. I don’t keep Kosher at all. But… those dishes were for…well…“later” on in life.
It was a rather hilarious moment. So we took the suitcases to NYC and used them for many years.
Another reason not to use the good china is that you have to wash it by hand.
We had a tiny wedding (immediate family only, civil ceremony) so never did the whole “register for fancy stuff” thing even though that was the common practice at the time.
However, I did inherit my aunt’s good china, and her silverware.
Do we use them frequently? no. But it’s nice to have them to trot out for special occasions. More work is involved, but the “good” dishes enhance the occasion and make it worthwhile. My mom did the same with her good china / silver.
We actually do have a set of crystal that’s put away and not used - we wound up inheriting sets from two different grandmothers, and only have enough space for one in the china cabinet.
Why are all of you suggesting that fine china can’t be put in the dishwasher? It’s a lot more robust than people give it credit for. My dad sold the stuff for 40 years so we always had a set and used it often. We put it in the dishwasher all the time. Besides, cutting up meat on the plate in normal use would do more damage than a dishwasher would. I remember one of the promotional videos where they put a plate face down and stood on top of it to show how strong it was (not that I’m suggesting you try).
I can’t speak for all brands, but from the Lenox website:
Definitely don’t put the metal-lined plate-ware in a microwave however, obviously. And real silverware may be a different story entirely. Make an old salesman happy and USE YOUR CHINA people!
My grandmother had chest of drawers stuffed with nightgowns and robes that she just couldn’t use “They’re too pretty to wear!” Yep,she wore minded and reminded rags.
Not going to risk the delicate layer of real gold gilting my china, thanks. Hand washing I can use much more gentle surficants and not damage my goodies, thanks.
At the annual township sidewalk sale here, there’s always at least a couple sets for sale. Usually I can get them under 25 bucks, as long as I don’t tell the seller what it’s for. Quality will vary.
Then I take them to a buddy’s place out of the city, and we shoot them. Beautiful plates, like new or even never used. BOOM! Gone. It’s awesome. I know it shouldn’t be, but it is. If I ever find myself in hell, it’s probably for exactly how awesome I find this.
The idea came to me a few years ago when the people 4 houses down had had the same set out for sale a few years running. It had peacocks on it. It’s the closest I’ve ever come -or will come, to shooting animals.
So use your china, or some asshole will shoot it while it looks like new.
This thread has inspired me to break out the good dishes for dinner. Should I use the Spock plate, or the McCoy plate?
My husband wants me to point out that most people’s good china isn’t pushing 200 years old most of the time. <shrug> I can’t help it if my family doesn’t seem to break or throw away stuff … :smack:
Whichever goes best with the Flintstones jelly glass.
Regards,
Shodan
ETA: We once attended a dinner party given by a friend who used the set of commemorative plates he inherited from an aunt. Mine was Gone With The Wind, and I can’t remember what my wife got. Most of the rest of the plates were commemorative of Elvis Presley. It was a memorable evening.
Our friend did a lot of parties like that.