More Pink & Chocolate c. 1860-1885by  Nancy Gere for Windham Fabrics

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.