Shopfront: As any toothpaste manufacturer will explain, white suggests clean! Fresh! Cool! All of which is important when buying china, right? Forget gold trims or geometric patterns and buy all white china.

No matter what you might buy in the future, white means everything will always match and it doesn't matter too much if you mix the cheap with the expensive or slightly different styles with one another.

It seems all but the most popular ranges are discontinued after not too long a time and, as cups break or plates crack, you often end up unable to buy any more.

White on the other hand will always be around. Some good whites at both ends of the price spectrum can be found at Brown Thomas Wedgwood (lightweight and formal) and at Dunnes Stores (chunky and casual).