Alternative to 50 shades of gray

Why is the correct colour description needed (serious question, this)?

Is an author to choose a particular colour for the purposes of making sure his suit matches hers ?

<puzzled>
 
Looks to me like she simply raided color chip samples from a Home Depot paint department.
 
Why is the correct colour description needed (serious question, this)?

Is an author to choose a particular colour for the purposes of making sure his suit matches hers ?

<puzzled>

I was running out of red and white words that I knew.
 
I guess my eyes don't do so well. the first row and many of the other whites look the same. All the blacks looked the same, except the charcoal. The basil in my garden looks like what she calls "shamrock", and the basil chip she has looks more like the oregano in my garden.
 
Of course, there can be color variation based upon the computer and monitor you're using. That being said, this link can be useful when trying to bring color (pun intended) into your writing. "Her hair shone in the sun with the color of honey" is a hell of a lot more poetic than "Mabel was blonde".

So thanks, pl. If I ever get my lazy ass back to writing, this will be useful!
 
I though you were talking about the book and was going to say gouging one's eyes out would be a preferable alternative to 50 shades.
 
"Did you accidentally write a note to him on the pewter correspondence paper?"
"No, I did it on porpoise."

Some of these are just silly. If I ever use porpoise as an adjective for a shade of grey, someone take away my pencils and notebooks.

Writing shouldn't be paint-by-numbers. What the adjective evokes is far more important than what the adjective actually corresponds to. Her lips may be brick, her skin oatmeal, and her hair squash, but for the love of god, don't use any of those adjectives for a pretty girl.
 
I don't think many would delve to the depths of using porpoise as a color description. I think the chart is more of just a quick visual aid, a helpful reference when you want to say something other than "red".

The story I find this useful for currently, I've kinda gotten sick of saying purple or violet or bluish. I did kind of search some other similar colors on my own, but the chart given is a cool quick reference to make that easier. For some reason, I totally forgot words colors like lavender and magenta, which would be more vividly descriptive than "light shade of purple". And lavender is a very familiar shade of color to most. Porpoise, no, but we as writers can kinda sort those out.

... I'm wearing a porpoise colored underwear right now. Ah, yes. Sssmut. So very easy.
 
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