One of the questions I have received from a lot of people who watched my video on Veiling is whether certain veil colours are to be worn for various liturgical events.
Some people have also stated that married women should only wear black veils and unmarried women and girls should wear white veils.
In all honesty, there are no Biblical or Catechetical specifications on what veil colours should be worn, when or by whom.
The most important thing is that a woman veils in the presence of Christ.
The idea of married women wearing black veils and unmarried females wearing white veils comes from Spanish, Italian and Latina cultures and traditions.
It is not necessarily a Biblical or Catholic tradition and as veiling is an instruction given by God BEFORE Spanish, Latin and Italian cultures came into being, I do not think it is imperative to follow the veiling traditions of these cultures.
Some people have also denounced women wearing coloured veils or veils in metallic shades like gold or silver, labelling them as being prideful or ostentatious.
Personally, I think this is ridiculous and taking modesty a little too far.
As women, we should be modest, yes, of course!
However, modesty does not mean we are to be frumpy, dowdy or dull in appearance. Quite the contrary!
In fact, femininity and part of being a woman entail dressing in bright, feminine, beautiful shades and fabrics – with moderation!!
In the natural order, it is unacceptable for a man to wear bright, flowery clothing.
Men should be dressed like men …… in sombre, dignified clothing and shades.
This is why it feels off to see a man wearing a pink or yellow suit, but it is acceptable for a woman to wear clothing in shades of pink, yellow or other colours.
Suppressing our femininity goes against God’s Will.
God who made us female expects us to express our femininity, within reasonable boundaries, because it glorifies Him. Through women and our femininity, His beauty is reflected. Through men and their masculinity, His strength is reflected.
It is therefore okay to wear bright, happy, fun, feminine colours in your clothing.
It is fun to be a girl. It shows a clear difference between your femininity and the masculinity of men.
As with all things, modesty and moderation should be observed.
So while it is acceptable to wear 3inch high heels to Church or out and about, it is immoderate to wear 6inch stilettos, you get me?
Okay, back to veil colours.
As long as the veil is not a major distraction, ie covered with feathers, jingly bells or a kaleidoscope of bright colours etc, I see no reason why you cannot wear a veil in any colour you desire.
Some people who are new to veiling may be very self-conscious in a white veil, especially if they are in a Novus Ordo parish.
In that case, wearing a black or brown veil or a veil in a shade close to your natural hair colour can help you feel less conspicuous.
You wear different clothes and shoes in different shades and colours when you attend Sunday Mass, don’t you? I do not see why veiling should be any different.
Some people, like me, enjoy changing their veils to suit certain liturgical events.
I also think it is a great way to evangelise the issue of veiling itself, the colours and the liturgical feasts attached to them.
Here is a summary of how I veil throughout the year.
MARIAN FEAST DAYS:
Our Lady’s colour is blue, so it makes sense for me to wear a blue veil on Her feast day, especially if it is a Holy Day of Obligation.
Depending on which Marian Feast it is, I would either wear a deep blue veil or a soft blue veil.
ORDINARY TIME:
The colour for Ordinary Time is green.
I do not wear green veils, but I would wear either a black veil or a dark brown veil close to my hair colour. During the summer months, I might even wear a white veil.
ADVENT AND LENT:
The colour for these liturgical periods is purple or violet – NOT lavender, which is a lighter shade of purple.
During these periods, I wear a purple coloured veil or a black veil, usually in an infinity style.
GAUDETE SUNDAY AND LAETARE SUNDAY:
Rose is the colour of the day, so I break out my rose-coloured veil for these Sundays.
CHRISTMAS AND EASTER:
Gold veils are most appropriate for these.
I might also wear a cream-coloured veil at Easter.
FEASTS OF THE PASSION OF JESUS AND HOLY SPIRIT:
As the colour for these occasions is red, I like to wear a deep red or burgundy-coloured veil.
ADORATION:
I switch between a black or a white veil for Adoration.
FUNERALS:
My go-to veil for Catholic funerals is black, of course, and preferably in an infinity style.
WEDDINGS:
I do not feel too comfortable wearing white veils at a Catholic wedding because the bride is usually in white.
So, for these occasions, I would wear a pretty silver veil.
It is not white, but the metallic shade is still celebratory and does not upstage the bride.
Now, what about you? Do you prefer to change up your veil colour or do you stick to one shade?
MORE RESOURCES:
ad Jesum per Mariam
🌹🙏🌹
Traditional Catholic Femininity 🌹🙏🌹 
I am new to veiling, since our new church is the first I’ve seen them being worn since I was a girl. Glad to see them again as it makes me feel more spiritual and feminine. My recent 1st veil is a deep blue. My next is going to be purple for Lent, and a golden one for Easter.
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Help! I’m new to wearing veils, what color do I wear for advent!!! Thank you
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Hi. Your question has been answered below
https://tradcatfem.com/2018/12/11/what-traditional-catholic-mantilla-veils-to-wear-for-advent-and-christmas/
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I’m just wondering: why not lavender? Is there a time you would say lavender is ok?
I prefer darker purple for Lent but feel that Advent is not as “heavy” so the lighter shade would be ok. Does that make sense?
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Both Advent and Lent are penitentiary periods, so darker shades of purple would be more appropriate. For very young children or babies, they can wear lavender instead of purple – the lighter colour is suitable for their young age.
but i still prefer to have my daughter in purple veils for Advent and Lent.
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Thank you for your quick reply. That does make sense.
I am still wondering if there is a time that would be acceptable to wear lavender.
The main reason I ask is because I already have one, purchased last year soon after I had started veiling, because I really like the colour and design and had thought it might be a nice shade for Advent. I feel a bit self-conscious about wearing a very vibrant shade of purple and also have a very dark shade that is almost blue.
I would not want to waste the money spent, although I’m sure one of my daughters (not babies or very small, but still young) would happily make use of it if it seems more appropriate.
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For the Marian feast days you mentioned lighter vs darker blue depending on the feast,”Our Lady’s colour is blue, so it makes sense for me to wear a blue veil on Her feast day, especially if it is a Holy Day of Obligation. Depending on which Marian Feast it is, I would either wear a deep blue veil or a soft blue veil.” Would you please differentiate light or dark depending on her days? Thank you!
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Thank you, that was informative 👍 👏 👌
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There is no ordinary time in the Catholic Church; that’s only in the Novus Ordo sect.
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I had one question. I’m new to wearing the veil and sometimes it slides off a little when I move. How do I keep it from moving around and becoming a distraction?
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Use hairpins or sew a transparent mini comb into the veil
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Do you wear Veils to Catholic Funerals and Catholic Weddings only or are you suppose to wear them to all funerals and weddings even if it is not Catholic? Are you suppose to wear them in a catholic church only or any church you go to?
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We are to veil not just at Catholic funerals and weddings, but in any Catholic church.
there is no need to veil at any other church that is not Catholic.
This can explain the reasons why we are to veil in church as Catholic women
>>>> https://tinyurl.com/5he8vb7f
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My family is Filipino. My mother said when she was growing up during WW2 in the Philippines, white mantillas were worn by young ladies, black by older and married/widowed ladies. When I asked her ‘what age is old’, she told me “my mother’s age” lol.
Also, triangular mantillas are worn with the point of the triangle on the head/forehead and the base of the triangle around the neck & shoulders. It prevents the mantilla from slipping off the head and the edges gather softly around the face. There’s no need to use bobby pins to secure the mantilla worn this way because the heavier part of it (the triangle’s base) is on the neck & shoulders, not the head.
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I just read an article in the Catholic Reporter Online in which the female author was very much against veils, despite quoting the commandment to wear them by St. Paul, and her only reason was because she felt they indicate a necessity to submit to a man. In other words, she does not like to submit to any man, including a husband, despite St. Paul commanding this, and so the outward sign of this, a veil, is distasteful to her. That makes it more clear to me that to disobey God, is to hate the outward sign, and to seek to please God, is to embrace the outward expression of the obedient heart. Why must we wait for man to command us once again and over and over again what has already been commanded in the Bible? By our quiet obedience and outward sign of hearts that long to please God, we will demonstrate that obedience to God never goes out of style. Did men stop believing that our obedience was from the heart? Did they want to see what we would do when left alone? Let us show in great numbers that they need not fear; our faith IS real and our obedience IS from the heart. I only wish I knew a way to respond to articles like that one, or to help women who are so rebellious that they assume that obedience means we are the property of a man, like this author fears. Was St. Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, merely the property of St. Joseph?
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We don’t argue with them. They know the truth; they just want to be hard-headed and to make us lose our state of grace, by drawing us into an argument or dialogue with them.
This is the same tactic that the devil used on Eve and that his followers use today, throughout the world.
A wonderful saint once said: “My job is to inform, not convince.”
We can often by tempted to fall into sin of wanting to be right, by arguing with these sorts of people.
The need to be right is linked to the sin of PRIDE – the devil’s favourite sin.
The best thing we can do is pray for them and offer them up to the Holy Spirit, whose job it is to convince and convert people.
Let us not usurp God’s authority in this regard.
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Thank you for sharing well spoken..
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I also like changing my veils to suit the liturgical season or feast day. i usually wear a white veil but I also have a dark blue infinity veil and rectangular lace veils in a light silver (grey) or light torqouise. I like wearing the grey one on more serious days (like Lent) and the torqouise one is just for when I dont feel like a bright white veil. The dark blue one could be for Our Lady but since it’s so dark, also for Good Friday perhaps or just Fridays. For white veils I have a casual simpler one and also nicer for major feasts. I have wondered if I have too many veils but I’ve found changing the colour to be helpful at certain times. Like wearing a dark veil on Good Friday or a bright white veil on Easter:)
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Thank you for this info. I feel so strange to wear a black veil to mass. But I want too. I don’t know what all the older ladies will say its not a funeral, its mass..but I’m going to try. I love your point of view.
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I stumbled on your blog when I was searching for women wearing chapel veils. My convenant spouse divorced me and I wonder if I am still allowed to wear a veil. I couldn’t find my answers anywhere.
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Yes, you can veil. You are veiling primarily for Christ, not your spouse.
This video explains more
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I prefer to wear black veils/headcoverings as many lighter colors make me look even more pale than I already am. I am one of few if any in my parish that wears something on my head, and learned to not worry about what others think or say. I will simply point them to 1 Corinthians 11 if they want to know the practice is based in scripture.
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That is a great strategy. I like it!
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Thank you for this post! I bought a white veil and that’s all I’ve ever worn. We go to a Novus Ordo parish … right now, and I’m the only one that veils. But I’ve gotten quite used to the stares and pray that by humbling myself before Christ, other women might follow.
I was also wondering, if you have more than one, how do you store them! I wanted to get another color(or two;)) but am unsure how to store them nicely.
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You are welcome, Rochelle!
Re storage: I am not too sure about others, but I personally store mine in the veil bag that they come in.
I wouldn’t know know whether or not that is the right way to store, and maybe other readers can chime in with their own tips.
God bless!
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How to order?
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Hi Cynthia,
Click on the image of the veil you like and you will be taken to the store.
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I would like to wear veil depending on the season but only white veil is available here in the Philippines. Sadly, I can’t afford to buy online.
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Dear Belle,
I feel exactly the same as you do living in Mexico. There are no veils at all here, not even white ones, and the people I know of who veil get theirs from Spain – expensive! I can’t afford to buy online either.
So, I went to my local seamstress. It turns out that she has tons and tons of laced fabric in different colours for dresses that she makes. I showed her pictures of mantillas and veils, and in less than an hour I had my first veil done! It’s a black one, fairly similar to the one pictured above. She only charged me the equivalent to $6 USD, fabric and handiwork included. At such a low price, I want to follow Paige’s suggestions for coloured veils, and have one done before each Liturgical season.
I hope you can find a similar solution.
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I do generally agree although as a married woman I would not feel comfortable wearing a white veil.
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Dear Miss Paige,
Thank you for your detailed article in veil colours. I was brought up to wear a white or off-white veil for church all year round. I haven’t changed my habits since and feel that making a simple act of humility and reverence is best done without making it into too much of a choice. I have seen others wearing other colours, and they look lovely. But for me, whenever my veil is pinned on, I feel the presence of Our Lord around me like a shield for my femininity. It also guards against visual distractions around me, helping me to focus my attention both visually and in my heart.
I am interested to hear other views
Thank you again for your website
In Mary’s name
Charlotte
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Dear Charlotte,
I completely agree with your last two sentences. I feel the exact same way when I veil.
This is one of the reasons why I love infinity veils. It’s like I’m having a special, private time with Jesus at the Mass. it feels more intimate and helps cut down distractions.
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I’d never thought to think of a veil as a shield before…
I’ve just always wished I could follow Paul’s rationale for it.
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