Canton

Canton is the blue and white chinoiserie series — floral paper plates at 10 and 9 inches, 7 inch dessert plates, guest and luncheon napkins, a 13x36 inch cotton table runner, a full 175-piece disposable set and a paper party bundle. Counts reach 175, priced $24 to about $101.

What is chinoiserie and why does it suit a table?

Chinoiserie is a European decorative style built on Chinese porcelain patterns — blue floral and landscape motifs on a white ground. It works on a table because blue and white is the one pattern pairing that reads as both traditional and clean, sits with silver or gold, and does not fight the colour of food the way a warm pattern can.

Can disposable chinoiserie mix with real china?

It does, better than most patterns. Because the blue and white ground is the same convention as the porcelain it imitates, a paper chinoiserie dessert plate on top of a plain white china dinner plate reads deliberate rather than makeshift. The cotton table runner in the same series is the piece that ties the two layers together.

What occasions is this collection used for?

Bridal and baby showers, Easter and spring lunches, garden parties and engagement dinners are the common ones, because blue and white carries formality without being seasonal. It is also the usual choice when a table needs to work in photographs across a whole day, since the pattern does not shift under changing light the way a strong colour does.