When I was about 11 years old, best beloved (with apologies to Kipling), we had a school leaving party. The headmistress (spinster of that parish) gave instructions on deportment to the girls. The girls told us that this included the advice to avoid wearing patent leather shoes because the boys would be able to see the girls' underwear reflected in the highly polished surface. We accepted this at face value at the time, as kids did in those golden, olden days, but I have since wondered about her state of mind!