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This article evidences the contribution that fashion studies can make to studies of visual culture and the history of British post-war art and design. It was published in a special issue on Francis Bacon of the Journal of Visual Culture in Britain, following the international conference at Tate Britain to accompany the artist's retrospective in 2008. The article demonstrates that the colours in Bacon's paintings intensified in tone and diversified in range after 1962. Taking the example of the artist’s choice of shirt, it reasons that the return of peacockery and colour in male dress influenced the artist's use of certain colours. It offers an alternative route into the artist's motivations and preoccupations through an attention to dress and style.