diff --git a/docs/labwc-theme.5.scd b/docs/labwc-theme.5.scd
index aa832f9e..8e71d8e9 100644
--- a/docs/labwc-theme.5.scd
+++ b/docs/labwc-theme.5.scd
@@ -70,6 +70,10 @@ elements are not listed here, but are supported.
 *menu.items.active.text.color*
 	Text color of active menu item
 
+*border.color*
+	Set all border colors. This is obsolete, but supported for backward
+	compatibility as some themes still contain it.
+
 # BUTTONS
 
 The images used for the titlebar buttons are 1-bit xbm (X Bitmaps). These are
diff --git a/src/theme.c b/src/theme.c
index 62c813fa..88a62d48 100644
--- a/src/theme.c
+++ b/src/theme.c
@@ -137,6 +137,11 @@ entry(struct theme *theme, const char *key, const char *value)
 	if (match(key, "window.inactive.border.color")) {
 		parse_hexstr(value, theme->window_inactive_border_color);
 	}
+	/* border.color is obsolete, but handled for backward compatibility */
+	if (match(key, "border.color")) {
+		parse_hexstr(value, theme->window_active_border_color);
+		parse_hexstr(value, theme->window_inactive_border_color);
+	}
 
 	if (match(key, "window.active.title.bg.color")) {
 		parse_hexstr(value, theme->window_active_title_bg_color);