diff --git a/clint/textui/colored.py b/clint/textui/colored.py
index 6b40942..5ff2b43 100644
--- a/clint/textui/colored.py
+++ b/clint/textui/colored.py
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ class ColoredString(object):
 
     def __unicode__(self):
         value = self.color_str
-        if isinstance(value, basestring):
+        if isinstance(value, str):
             return ('%s' % value).decode('utf8')
         return value