diff --git a/pythonforandroid/logger.py b/pythonforandroid/logger.py
index 009b32e86f..b0b7cbea11 100644
--- a/pythonforandroid/logger.py
+++ b/pythonforandroid/logger.py
@@ -61,27 +61,35 @@ def format(self, record):
 
 class colorama_shim(object):
 
-    def __init__(self):
+    def __init__(self, real):
         self._dict = defaultdict(str)
+        self._real = real
+        self._enabled = False
 
     def __getattr__(self, key):
-        return self._dict[key]
+        return getattr(self._real, key) if self._enabled else self._dict[key]
 
-Null_Style = Null_Fore = colorama_shim()
+    def enable(self, enable):
+        self._enabled = enable
 
-if stdout.isatty():
-    Out_Style = Colo_Style
-    Out_Fore = Colo_Fore
-else:
-    Out_Style = Null_Style
-    Out_Fore = Null_Fore
+Out_Style = colorama_shim(Colo_Style)
+Out_Fore = colorama_shim(Colo_Fore)
+Err_Style = colorama_shim(Colo_Style)
+Err_Fore = colorama_shim(Colo_Fore)
 
-if stderr.isatty():
-    Err_Style = Colo_Style
-    Err_Fore = Colo_Fore
-else:
-    Err_Style = Null_Style
-    Err_Fore = Null_Fore
+
+def setup_color(color):
+    enable_out = (False if color == 'never' else
+                  True if color == 'always' else
+                  stdout.isatty())
+    Out_Style.enable(enable_out)
+    Out_Fore.enable(enable_out)
+
+    enable_err = (False if color == 'never' else
+                  True if color == 'always' else
+                  stderr.isatty())
+    Err_Style.enable(enable_err)
+    Err_Fore.enable(enable_err)
 
 
 def info_main(*args):
diff --git a/pythonforandroid/toolchain.py b/pythonforandroid/toolchain.py
index 8f8579fca9..028a92a8e8 100755
--- a/pythonforandroid/toolchain.py
+++ b/pythonforandroid/toolchain.py
@@ -28,10 +28,9 @@
                                      CompiledComponentsPythonRecipe,
                                      BootstrapNDKRecipe, NDKRecipe)
 from pythonforandroid.archs import (ArchARM, ArchARMv7_a, Archx86)
-from pythonforandroid.logger import (logger, info, warning, debug,
+from pythonforandroid.logger import (logger, info, warning, setup_color,
                                      Out_Style, Out_Fore, Err_Style, Err_Fore,
-                                     info_notify, info_main, shprint,
-                                     Null_Fore, Null_Style)
+                                     info_notify, info_main, shprint)
 from pythonforandroid.util import current_directory, ensure_dir
 from pythonforandroid.bootstrap import Bootstrap
 from pythonforandroid.distribution import Distribution, pretty_log_dists
@@ -43,17 +42,6 @@
 sys.path.insert(0, join(toolchain_dir, "tools", "external"))
 
 
-info(''.join(
-    [Err_Style.BRIGHT, Err_Fore.RED,
-     'This python-for-android revamp is an experimental alpha release!',
-     Err_Style.RESET_ALL]))
-info(''.join(
-    [Err_Fore.RED,
-     ('It should work (mostly), but you may experience '
-      'missing features or bugs.'),
-     Err_Style.RESET_ALL]))
-
-
 def add_boolean_option(parser, names, no_names=None,
                        default=True, dest=None, description=None):
     group = parser.add_argument_group(description=description)
@@ -204,6 +192,9 @@ def __init__(self):
         parser.add_argument(
             '--debug', dest='debug', action='store_true',
             help='Display debug output and all build info')
+        parser.add_argument(
+            '--color', dest='color', choices=['always', 'never', 'auto'],
+            help='Enable or disable color output (default enabled on tty)')
         parser.add_argument(
             '--sdk-dir', '--sdk_dir', dest='sdk_dir', default='',
             help='The filepath where the Android SDK is installed')
@@ -282,6 +273,18 @@ def __init__(self):
         args, unknown = parser.parse_known_args(sys.argv[1:])
         self.dist_args = args
 
+        setup_color(args.color)
+
+        info(''.join(
+            [Err_Style.BRIGHT, Err_Fore.RED,
+             'This python-for-android revamp is an experimental alpha release!',
+             Err_Style.RESET_ALL]))
+        info(''.join(
+            [Err_Fore.RED,
+             ('It should work (mostly), but you may experience '
+              'missing features or bugs.'),
+             Err_Style.RESET_ALL]))
+
         # strip version from requirements, and put them in environ
         requirements = []
         for requirement in split_argument_list(args.requirements):
@@ -357,19 +360,8 @@ def recipes(self, args):
                 "--compact", action="store_true", default=False,
                 help="Produce a compact list suitable for scripting")
 
-        add_boolean_option(
-                parser, ["color"],
-                default=True,
-                description='Whether the output should be colored:')
-
         args = parser.parse_args(args)
 
-        Fore = Out_Fore
-        Style = Out_Style
-        if not args.color:
-            Fore = Null_Fore
-            Style = Null_Style
-
         ctx = self.ctx
         if args.compact:
             print(" ".join(set(Recipe.list_recipes(ctx))))
@@ -380,18 +372,18 @@ def recipes(self, args):
                 print('{Fore.BLUE}{Style.BRIGHT}{recipe.name:<12} '
                       '{Style.RESET_ALL}{Fore.LIGHTBLUE_EX}'
                       '{version:<8}{Style.RESET_ALL}'.format(
-                        recipe=recipe, Fore=Fore, Style=Style,
+                        recipe=recipe, Fore=Out_Fore, Style=Out_Style,
                         version=version))
                 print('    {Fore.GREEN}depends: {recipe.depends}'
-                      '{Fore.RESET}'.format(recipe=recipe, Fore=Fore))
+                      '{Fore.RESET}'.format(recipe=recipe, Fore=Out_Fore))
                 if recipe.conflicts:
                     print('    {Fore.RED}conflicts: {recipe.conflicts}'
                           '{Fore.RESET}'
-                          .format(recipe=recipe, Fore=Fore))
+                          .format(recipe=recipe, Fore=Out_Fore))
                 if recipe.opt_depends:
                     print('    {Fore.YELLOW}optional depends: '
                           '{recipe.opt_depends}{Fore.RESET}'
-                          .format(recipe=recipe, Fore=Fore))
+                          .format(recipe=recipe, Fore=Out_Fore))
 
     def bootstraps(self, args):
         '''List all the bootstraps available to build with.'''