Don't Forget To Smile!

This is a great time for women to become butlers, even though the training is as good as a battle drill. MARIE CLAIRE met women who went to the INTERNATIONAL BUTLER ACADEMY IN THE NETHERLANDS, slipped on the traditional butler’s suit, learned to be invisible and flexible and improved on their smile with a pen stuck between their teeth

- Katie Breen

It’s hard to imagine how a woman could put her steps into those of a butler such as the character played by Anthony Hopkins in The Remains of the Day (based on a novel by Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ichiguro), or, closer to us, Mr. Carson, the Downton Abbey’s butler. Such elderly men, often authoritarian and easily grumpy, are not the most attractive of characters… Yet, for some women, these quintessential English men are unforgettable, and 25% of students at The International Butler Academy (TIBA) are female.

After completing her training at Ana Lago Rey, 44, a Spaniard, holds a temporary position as a butler in London. She really has a crush on these men: “I immediately felt a connection,” she says, “I can only admire them. To me, a butler has what we should all strive for: to be a good person with strong principles and will power, a person who is trustworthy, loyal, humble and discreet.” Discreet? One might even say: invisible. While the world is obsessed by self-promotion on social media, Ana strongly believes in one of the school’s mantras: “A butler must be invisible and just focus on delivering the service.”

Being invisible starts with the uniform. “One is not there to make a statement about oneself,” says Ana, “No one is interested in you as a human being.” When you start the now 10-week programme, you receive, together with your pocket-knife and shoe-shine kit, the three-piece butler attire with two white shirts, cuff links, a tie, suspenders and four pairs of white gloves. Jewellery and accessories that would bring attention are not recommended. No heels for female butlers, they should wear only black flat shoes, have their hair up and stick to natural make up. “My strongest sign of femininity was my smile,” says Ana.