The ones I have seen use white for the background and all the repro's for the bows. That doesn't mean you can't change it up and make it your own. As long as your background color choice gives enough contrast to the bow color it will look great, you can even go with a dark background to show off your retro fabric. You can also change it up with each block.
I would suggest picking a few options, lay the colors out on top of each other, if one option doesn't go pick me! Then take a pic of your choices and look at them next to each other. This will help you make a good decision before cutting into your fabric.
Good luck, I would love to see your final decision and completed quilt when you get done.