The Evolution of the Romanian Traditional Garment in Făgăraş Land in the First Decades after the Great Union of 1918

In 1910 ASTRA, the Transylvanian Association for Romanian Literature and Culture initiated a campaign to photograph the traditional clothing of Făgăraș Land. A comparison between the outcome from the campaign that started in 1910 (owned by the Făgăraș LandMuseum“Valer Literat”) and the photographs taken in the 1930s in the communities of Făgăraș villages (kept in the same museum) shows modifications to the traditional clothing in the period following the Great Union. Causes for the changes include the economic evolution of the area, gradual reduction in hemp cultivation and the diversification of textiles on offer in fairs, a gradual rise in awareness of fashion in the female population, and last but not least, ASTRA’s influence. It encouraged, through its women’s organisations, the spread and adoption of the Sălişte costume, as an expression of national unity. The comparison between the two sets of photographs highlights a tendency to simplify the outfit, namely to remove the heavy and uncomfortable items and to partially replace fabrics woven at home with industrial fabrics. From a chromatic point of view, this tendency to simplify the garment is accompanied by a narrowing of the colour register..