1891 Marie Curie - Misty Himalayas

In the 1890s, women’s blouses—often called shirtwaists—became a key part of fashionable and practical dress. These blouses were typically made of cotton, linen, or silk, and were worn with long skirts.

Key features included:

• High collars

• Puffed "leg-of-mutton" sleeves, especially in the mid-1890s

• Tucked or pleated fronts, lace trims, and delicate embroidery

• Often white or pale colors, though darker tones appeared for practical wear

Shirtwaists symbolized the rise of the "New Woman"—educated, independent, and increasingly active in public life. They were especially popular among working women and students, offering a blend of style and ease.

Marie Curie (1867–1934) was a pioneering physicist and chemist best known for her groundbreaking research on radioactivity. Born in Warsaw, Poland, she moved to Paris to study at the Sorbonne, where she later became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.

She discovered two new elements, polonium and radium, alongside her husband Pierre Curie, and developed techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes. Her work laid the foundation for modern nuclear science and medicine.

Marie Curie remains the only person to win Nobel Prizes in two different scientific fields—Physics (1903) and Chemistry (1911). She died in 1934 from exposure to radiation, which was not well understood at the time.