Emma Roberts' Lace Voilette, and Our New Vita Face Veil

When Emma Roberts married Cody John in Sun Valley, Idaho, on 25 July 2026, the detail everyone talked about sat right across her eyes. Her custom Monique Lhuillier look included a short lace face veil, which Lhuillier called a "veilette", with the lace trim falling just over the bride's eyes. Later in the day she pushed it back, so it sat on her hair like a lace headband.

It divided opinion online. We loved it. A short face veil is one of the oldest bridal looks there is, and it was lovely to see one worn so confidently at a modern wedding. Vita is our take on it.

What Is a Voilette?

A voilette is a short veil worn over the face. The name is French for a small veil, and you will also hear it called a face veil or a veilette. It covers the eyes, sometimes the nose too, and stops there.

Voilettes were a familiar sight in the 1940s and 1950s, often worn with a suit or a tea-length dress, and they have been quietly coming back for a few seasons. A birdcage veil is a close cousin: the same short shape, made from open Russian net instead of tulle and lace.

Meet Vita

Vita is a short voilette in soft Italian tulle, edged with our Siena lace. Siena is a fine scalloped lace with a delicate eyelash fringe, and on Vita it sits just over the eyes, so the edge catches the light where it matters most. The tulle falls about 15cm from the headband and stays light over your face, so your expression is never hidden.

We set Vita on an ivory satin-covered headband. There is no comb to work into your hair and nothing to pin, and it stays exactly where it should all day. It comes in ivory or off-white.

"A voilette is all about the edge. The Siena lace does the work: it catches the light right at the eyes, so the tulle can stay soft and simple."

How to Wear a Voilette

A voilette looks right with a short or tea-length dress, a jumpsuit or a suit, and just as lovely with a long gown. It is a natural choice for a civil or registry office wedding, and it works in church too, where it gives you a face veil without any length to manage.

Keep your hair simple and let the lace do the work. A low bun or soft waves both sit well under a headband. If you love the look but would rather place the veil yourself, Clio is our voilette on small combs, edged with a softer scalloped lace, so you can wear it straight across the brow or tilted to one side.

See the Lace First

Lace always looks different in your hand than on a screen. You can order a sample of our Siena lace before you decide, and our birdcage veils and voilettes page shows every short style we make side by side.

Like everything we make, Vita is handmade to order in our Bath workshop, one at a time.

Sarah Jane x