Lace was an important tool for displaying social status throughout the Spanish empire. Men and women wore expensive lace ruffs and cuffs, women covered their hair with lace-trimmed silk mantles, and the children of the elite protected their clothes with linen aprons edged with lace. This talk explores the evolution of lace and its uses in early modern Spanish fashion by looking closely at family portraits in illuminated letters of nobility, a uniquely Spanish genre that flourished during this era of social change. The artists who painted these miniatures paid meticulous attention to the details of lace, which makes these manuscripts a valuable resource for tracing trends in lace over the decades from the late-16th century to the end of the 17th century. Even as lace styles changed over the years, it retained its prominence as the most noble adornment.