Preppy Plates that are Pure Joy
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I first laid eyes on Dodie Thayer’s lettuce ware during Sotheby’s Americana Week several years ago. A formal dining table had been set with an entire collection in all of its green, ruffled glory. It was surreal, it was preppy, it was silly, it was chic.
I had seen food-inspired dishware before. I'm no stranger to Bordello Pinheiro’s delightful ceramic fruits and vegetables, but while those dishes are pure kitsch, clearly meant for picnics or cocktail hour, Dodie Thayer’s version is elevated.
That, I would learn after going down a serious research rabbit hole, was because Thayer made each piece by hand at home in Jupiter, Florida. An artistic person and self-taught ceramicist, Thayer picked up the hobby in the early ‘60s, taking inspiration from 18th-century dishware and Napoli-ware. She brought a few of her pieces to Au Bon Gout, the ‘60s answer to Sur La Table, in Palm Beach. Within a few years, the Palm Beach set, including Brooke Astor, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, C.Z. Guest, and Frank and Barbara Sinatra, were all avid collectors, sometimes waiting months or even years for finished pieces. To own a complete set was a mark of Palm Beach high society. Thayer never scaled her business and continued to hand-make each exquisite piece until she retired in the 80s.
The value of her has lettuce ware skyrocketed to thousands of dollars, especially for one of her coveted tureens—Mario Buatta’s personal lettuce ware set sold for $60,000 at Sotheby’s last year. How would I ever get my hands on them?
That is where Tory Burch stepped in. A lettuce ware collector herself, she reached out to Thayer in 2013 and worked with her and her family for two years to produce the Dodie Thayer x Tory Burch collection. I started collecting the white lettuce ware (the most minimal of the modern trio, which today comes in green and pale pink) in 2020, and the style looks just as elegant and whimsical today as it did sixty years ago—now, thankfully dishwasher and microwave safe. It also plays well with others, I love to mix it with the ultra-thin, matte Mud pieces as well as vintage hand-painted plates (anything botanical goes) and I dream of one day throwing in some green lettuce ware pieces as well for the penultimate preppy china cabinet.
At T&C we stand by the idea that classics are always a good investment, but admittedly that can translate to simple or neutral designs. Thayer’s lettuce ware is none of that. It is showy and frilly. It has a point of view that is decidedly ‘60s Florida. But that’s what gives it a personality. Its over-the-top nature makes it a staple in the same way we love a leopard print skirt, a sequined jacket, or a red lip. A table full of Thayer’s lettuce ware makes me smile, and at the end of the day, that is what will always stand the test of time.
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