Wife of Satyendranath Tagore, who was the first Indian to join the Indian Civil Service, Jnanadanandini Devi popularised the new form of wearing sarees that we see today. It was her exposure to British Society through her husband and family ties. 

There are more than one interesting stories that come about her experimenting with this Nivi style of wearing a saree with a petticoat and blouse. 

In a 19th-century ad for the women's magazine “Bambodhini Patrika,” we will see it is training women how to drape a saree in the most novel way. In this style, the aanchal or pallu was carried around the body, pinned onto the left shoulder, and then thrown backward. It, thus, freed the hands for running various errands and paying courtesies by freeing the working hand. The wearing of undershirts and a petticoat underneath, in this new style, rendered the saree a modest outdoor wear. The maverick woman behind the ad and this new style of draping was Jnandanandini Devi. 

And the second story goes like this, “Satyendranath, was sick and she had to go to a Viceroy's reception in Kolkata in 1867 or 68. Though her dress is not mentioned, it would be safe to conclude that she went wearing a new form of tying a saree."