If the Shoe Fits, Wear It. If Not, Design One That Does

EVEN for the most dedicated shopper, finding just the right pair of shoes can be elusive. A store-to-store search - whether on the Web or at the mall - can take hours. Shoppers may think they've found the perfect pair, only to be stymied by a problem with fit, style or color.

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If you don't like the shoes you find in the stores, you can go to a Web site like Stevemadden.com and choose your own color, pattern, style and size.

It's not that retailers don't try, as the huge shoe sections in department stores like Saks and Nordstrom, and Web sites like Zappos and Shoes.com, attest. But for those with very individual or exacting tastes - and with money to spare - some Internet retailers offer design-it-yourself options in footwear. Customization is more common with athletic shoes, but fashion footwear is beginning to catch up.

Makers like Vans and Nike are among the companies that offer customized shoes, allowing both women and men to create their own look from existing styles, colors and materials.

Cale Valdez, a college student in Huntington, Calif., went to vans.com to find a memorable look for his wedding last month. He designed some red and black canvas slip-ons for the wedding party, including matching lace-ups for his father-in-law.

"My groomsmen had black tuxes and red vests, so we thought it would look great to have red shoes," he said of the slip-ons, which cost $40 a pair.

Nikeid.com, which attracts almost as many women as men, has customers who order hundreds of pairs. The hip-hop disc jockey known as Clark Kent, of Brooklyn, has designed 350 pairs of shoes on the site, including his favorite, a pair of purple, black and teal Air Force 1's, which cost him about $275.

"The biggest attraction is the ability to shock," he said. "You want a pair that people notice so they ask you: 'Where did you get those?'"

While customized sneakers are available on many athletic shoe Web sites, fashion shoes are harder, although not impossible, to find.

For women who are willing to spend a hefty sum, there is Tupli, started three years ago by two women who were leaving careers in banking.

"This is ideal for the woman who can imagine the perfect shoe but can't find it," said Kathy Myczowski, 34. She went into the individual shoe design business with Tamara Chubinidze, 26, who is from the Republic of Georgia, where such shoemaking is more prevalent and where Tupli's shoes are made.