by Nancy Gere

We just couldn't believe how many fantastic designs were left out of the first Pink and Chocolate Collection.  With that we bring you More Pink & Chocolate.

The origin of chocolate brown used as a predominant color in printed fabric appeared with regularity in the nineteenth century. The color was worn by widows who had passed out of the stage of mourning, when they were expected to wear only black. The patterns used in these "mourning browns" were simple calicos, and not like the more stylized designs featured in this collection.

Later in the century brown as a color in printed fabric started moving to the forefront of European fashion. The idea is perhaps copied from hard to find Indian hand painted cottons. In the early to mid 1800's these Indian fabrics using rich colors painted on top of dark grounds were rarely seen in Europe. However, as a result of these beautiful imported fabrics, it is then that we began to see brown combined with the lively colors of red and pink emerging as a trend in Europe.

Our More Pink & Chocolate Collection commemorates several of these stunning European designs ca. 1875.