Oh la la Lucite: Shatter-resistant tableware

Have you noticed this summer that transparent accessories are all the rage. Think Lucite heels, totes, necklaces and bracelets. Lucite is gracing the pages of many fashion magazines, these offbeat extras are right in tune with the season’s space-age vibe.
(Clockwise: Dolce & Gabbana shoes, Oscar de la Renta necklace, Harper's Bazaar; plastic flatware, Pandora Design, Moss; lucite accessories, Marie Claire; lucite tableware, Hammacher Schlemmer).

Whether you're sipping iced tea on the front porch, serving margaritas on the patio or partying at the beach, you can create a tablesetting that's as stylish as you are by choosing shatter-resistant tableware.

(l): polycarbonate dinnerware, Crate & Barrel. (r): polycarbonate dinnerware, Front Gate

What appears to be glass is really a shatter-resistant polycarbonate, the same durable plastic used to make bulletproof windows. Polycarbonate is the "king of plastics”; it has the look and weight of crystal without the fragility. I love it because it’s inexpensive and fun, your table's equivalent to a funky lucite bracelet or necklace. Now that’s clearly chic!

(l): lucite tealight holder, assorted colors, Impulse Enterprises, 954-957-9917 (r): lucite tray, red, Impulse Enterprises, 954-957-9917.
(l): Maua Hani candlestick, $150.00, Barney's. (r): lucite candlelabra, green, Impulse Enterprises, 954-957-9917

(l): Table Lamp, Kartell, $287.00, Barney's. (r): Albrizzi ice bucket, $340.00, Jonathan Adler.

(l): Polycarbonate dinnerware, orange bowl, $4.99, Bed, Bath and Beyond. (r): Monogrammed duraclear glasses set of 6, $67.00, Williams Sonoma.


(l): Acrylic glasses set of 8, green, Isaac Mizrahi, $19.99, Target. (r): Polycarbonate patio plates, $2.95 each, Crate and Barrel.

(l): Polycarbonate Salad bowl with tongs, $39.50, Frontgate. (r): Polycarbonate bronze bowl set of 6, $29.50, Frontgate.

These tableware accessories are bursting with color and evoke the tropics, this year's hottest motif. So this summer, set out dinnerware and serving pieces that are both whimsical, highly functional and you won't spend a fortune to style your table. For all you jewelry lovers, if you're still on the hunt for this summer's hottest accessories, New York magazine gives us great tips on where to find them! Enjoy!