A few months ago I got an entire new set of Old Town Blue Corelle, serving dishes and all. I absolutely fell in love with the pattern. Someone mentioned recognizing the dishes in another post, so I wanted to highlight them here. Old Town Blue is actually a retro pattern brought back to stores new now, though you can often find them in vintage stores and flea markets, too, if you have the patience to put a set together piece by piece!
From what I can dig up, it was first produced in 1972. They later produced another similar pattern called Blue Onion, and more recently True Blue, but nothing is the same as Old Town Blue, so they brought it back. The popularity of the pattern can be seen in its collectible fashion–check out the 63 Best Images of Old Town Blue and Blue Onion on Pinterest, for an example. I see some pieces there I don’t have…. I want that butter dish!
I didn’t care for Corelle much for many years. I didn’t grow up with any Corelle. My mother loved her fine dishes. She had a (gorgeous) set of Franciscan Apple dishes for daily use, and several sets of fancy china. I never cared for china–too fancy for me!–and never cared for Corelle–perhaps because I was brought up in the atmosphere that one always set the table, even with small children, with “nice” dishes. You didn’t worry about the children breaking the dishes. Heavens, no. The children were well-behaved. OF COURSE.
But then I did get some Corelle dishes when my kids were little. Because they weren’t well-behaved and for some reason I didn’t even particularly expect them to Not break the dishes. (Hmmm.) I considered them throwaway dishes. (They were the more plain jane Cafe Blue Corelle.)
When I decided to get some new dishes recently (I had distributed out some of my other dishes to my now grown-up children), I had a craving for Corelle, and it absolutely had to be Old Town Blue. I can’t even explain why, but it just called to me. Got any Corelle? Favorite patterns? Are you a fan? And are they your “throwaway” dishes the kids can’t break, or your “real” ones?
P.S. In the photo above, I’m experimenting with “frosting inside” mini cakes. That’s some apple spice cake with vanilla frosting. It was delicious.
brookdale says:
Yes, I love my Old Town Blue! I got my original set back in 1973 when we finally bought a house. Back then a “set” contained 6 of each dish, not 4 as it is today. Have bought more plates and bowls at yard sales and flea markets over the years. I did give away most of the cups/saucers, use the mugs instead. I even had the matching place mats at one time.
As a side note, Old Town, Maine, is a small city not far from where I live now!
On April 13, 2018 at 8:12 am
fowlers says:
I’ve never been a fan…of Corelle that is…Mom had a set of the ones that went with her Pyrex bowls…I always thought those green plates were the ugliest ones to be made….Crazy Daisy I think is the pattern. The Corelle color wheel lol…avocado green, harvest gold’s, Dutch blue’s….products of the 70’s I’m guessing hahaha. I took my grandmothers advice years ago…don’t let my china sit in a cabinet! use them….so I do…my everyday dishes are from the 30-40’s and I use them every day… I do however love the shade of blue yours are…do you know the color ? ?
On April 13, 2018 at 8:43 am
Suzanne McMinn says:
I don’t know–it’s Old Town Blue blue, lol.
On April 13, 2018 at 9:03 am
Old Geezer says:
Well, Gollleee Neds! Them’s my dishes too (among others)! We got ours from our daughter when she closed out her college apartment years ago. Also got a big chef’s knife out of the deal. We ain’t too uppity to use ’em every day, but I never thought I’d see ’em on the web. The pattern doesn’t move me one way or the other, but they are easy to use and easy to clean, and don’t break (although the will MELT if too close to the electric burner). 😀
On April 13, 2018 at 9:39 am
dl30f0dls says:
What a fun post, Suzanne! Most of my dishes are plain old Syracuse restaurant pieces w/green trim from thrifting. They seem to be bullet (and kid – and husband) proof. lol But I do have two Corelle pieces, both boring white, that I adore. One is a little pitcher that we use to heat up maple syrup for pancakes, and the other a serving bowl that keeps going the distance. Your dishes are very pretty, and it seems that blue is now showing up everywhere in home decor in various lovely hues. I’m trying not to eat sugar right now, but dang, those muffins look tasty!
On April 13, 2018 at 10:39 am
tc1161 says:
I like Corelle because it’s lightweight and microwavable. I can’t handle heavy dishes anymore. Can’t even use my mom’s glass mixing bowls anymore and have switched to stainless steel mixing bowls. My Corelle is all mix and match from thrift stores and yard sales.
On April 13, 2018 at 11:03 am
boulderneigh says:
You can have the Corelle – I WANT THE CAKES!
On April 13, 2018 at 1:03 pm
melonhead says:
I received Corelle as a wedding gift in 1994 and growing up quite poor, thought it was REALLY NICE STUFF. lol. And it’s fine – it’s still all I use except for the one week out of the year I use my Christmas dishes. I’d love some nice stoneware dishes but I have college to pay for now, so no. Btw, glad you’re back! 8)
On April 13, 2018 at 1:16 pm
Joell says:
:happyflower:
I love you “new” dishes. I am a blue and white dish person as well. I have collected Blue Willow for 60 plus years and also have the Brook Blue pattern and we use it every day, China was meant to be used. I remember when corelle fist came on the market, it was so popular, one reason it seemed like families were largerback then and there were no dish washers except us kids and we broke our share of dishes. Blue and white dishes set a pretty country table, they always look so fresh and pretty.
On April 13, 2018 at 3:38 pm
kblaidlaw says:
I got a set of Old Town Blue when I got married in 1980. I have been using them every day since then. I still love them just as much today as I did then. I pick up pieces at garage sales etc. whenever I see them. I also have the matching pyrex pieces. Just love them!
On April 14, 2018 at 7:34 am
Pat says:
Ah, Corelle. I’m a dishaholic, but for the last 14 years, I’ve used only Corelle Winter Frost White. Boring to some, the white works for any situation: dresses up with napkins/tablecloth for holidays, dresses down with paper towels for daily use. As much as I love the many Pfaltzgraff patterns, I no longer want to handle heavy dishes. As for fine china, I sold mine to Replacements 25 years ago and haven’t looked back. I love old fashioned blue speckled enamelware, but that doesn’t work so well in the microwave. So Corelle WFW it is for me.
Great post, Suzanne!
On April 14, 2018 at 2:17 pm
ticka1 says:
love those dishes! who has the job as your taste tester? Those cakes look yummy.
On April 15, 2018 at 8:21 pm
VikingMiss says:
I never cared for the Corelle dishes. I used to use my grandma’s Desert Rose dishes, but then I started collecting my own Fiestaware in the different colors (before it was cool! LOL!). Aside from simply changing it up, I now find that I really like using my Spode Christmas dishes after Thanksgiving mainly because they are much lighter than Fiestaware. I may end up using Corelle after all! I have a box that is a mix from my husband and my other grandmother stored away.
On April 16, 2018 at 5:59 pm
kbiberstine says:
I’m so glad to see your posts again! My mom wanted to try something new years ago so she gave me the same set you have and I love them. They’re very lightweight and easy to clean…plus, I love the fact it’s what what I used as a kid. I’m stuck on them and the Peanuts glasses you used to get at Mc Donald’s in the 80’s.
On April 21, 2018 at 10:51 am
kbiberstine says:
I’m so glad to see your posts again! My mom wanted to try something new years ago so she gave me the same set you have and I love them. They’re very lightweight and easy to clean…plus, I love the fact it’s what what I used as a kid. I’m stuck on them and the Peanuts glasses you could get at McDonald’s.
On April 21, 2018 at 10:52 am
Dana says:
Which butter dish are you fond of? I have a round one that I’d be happy to share!
On April 28, 2018 at 12:06 am