diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 49e38b93..bddb6be2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -289,6 +289,7 @@ customization is provided via:
 |`POWERLEVEL9K_HIDE_BRANCH_ICON`|`false`|Set to `true` to hide the branch icon from the segment.|
 |`POWERLEVEL9K_SHOW_CHANGESET`|`false`|Set to `true` to display the hash / changeset in the segment.|
 |`POWERLEVEL9K_CHANGESET_HASH_LENGTH`|`12`|How many characters of the hash / changeset to display in the segment.|
+|`POWERLEVEL9K_VCS_SHOW_SUBMODULE_DIRTY`|`true`|Set to `false` to not reflect submodule status in the top-level repository prompt.|
 
 **vcs Symbols**
 
diff --git a/functions/vcs.zsh b/functions/vcs.zsh
index 3eec5dfd..7f0b9dea 100644
--- a/functions/vcs.zsh
+++ b/functions/vcs.zsh
@@ -6,13 +6,18 @@
 # https://github.com/bhilburn/powerlevel9k
 ################################################################
 
+set_default POWERLEVEL9K_VCS_SHOW_SUBMODULE_DIRTY true
 function +vi-git-untracked() {
+    # TODO: check git >= 1.7.2 - see function git_compare_version()
     local FLAGS
     FLAGS=('--porcelain')
-    # TODO: check git >= 1.7.2 - see function git_compare_version()
-    FLAGS+='--ignore-submodules=dirty'
+
+    if [[ "$POWERLEVEL9K_VCS_SHOW_SUBMODULE_DIRTY" == "false" ]]; then
+      FLAGS+='--ignore-submodules=dirty'
+    fi
+
     if [[ $(git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree 2> /dev/null) == 'true' && \
-            -n $(git status ${FLAGS} | grep '^??' 2> /dev/null | tail -n1) ]]; then
+            -n $(git status ${FLAGS} | grep -E '^??' 2> /dev/null | tail -n1) ]]; then
         hook_com[unstaged]+=" %F{$POWERLEVEL9K_VCS_FOREGROUND}$(print_icon 'VCS_UNTRACKED_ICON')%f"
         VCS_WORKDIR_HALF_DIRTY=true
     else