Gingham:
A checkered pattern where the checkers are square. The pattern is usually two colors, one of which is white. The stripes of color are the same width, one darker than the other and darker still where they overlap.
Period Photographs
It is difficult to differentiate between different types of plaid/checkers in photographs, but here are some "best guess" examples. Click on the photo to go to the original source.
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| The Barrington House Collection |
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| The Barrington House Collection |
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| The Barrington House Collection |
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| The Barrington House Collection |
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| The Barrington House Collection |
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| The Barrington House Collection |
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| The Barrington House Collection |
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| The Barrington House Collection |
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| The Barrington House Collection |
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| Photo Print for Sale on Ebay |
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| The Graceful Lady collection of CDVs of Children's Clothing |
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| Dress and wrapper worn by Mary Todd Lincoln. Chicago Histroy Museum. |
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| Cotton dress. 1860-1865. Ohio State University Costume Collection |
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| Same dress up close |
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| The Graceful Lady collection of wool and cotton day dresses |
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| Same dress up close |
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| Child's dress, c. 1860. Augusta Auctions |
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| The same dress up close |
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| Silk taffeta dress, c, 1865. FIDM Museum. |
Conclusions
Gingham fabric seemed to be used in both lady's and children's clothing. Patterns were both large and small scale, and found on both cotton and silk fabric. The original dresses I found all used shades of blue or green, but I can't say for certain if this was a common trend.
