diff --git a/bashrc b/bashrc
index b7bbf87..210d261 100644
--- a/bashrc
+++ b/bashrc
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ addpath $HOME/opt/bin end
 export IPLAYER_OUTDIR="$HOME/Downloads/iplayer/"
 
 # enable color support of ls and also add handy aliases
-if [ -x /usr/bin/dircolors ]; then
+if [ -x /usr/bin/dircolors -a -f ~/.dircolors ]; then
     eval "`dircolors -b ~/.dircolors`"
 fi