Customizing – Coming Full Circle?

Now that shoppers can snap up the latest fashionables with a click of a mouse or browse through endless specialized boutiques – what’s left for them to experience?

Customization of course. I’m talking a little more than Carrie’s gold name plate frenzy back in the 90s (and I can attest that this was very popular in New Orleans back then), or having your name spelled out in beads on a string necklacle. In 2008, custom-made apparels are popping up in the accessories at affordable prices.

First there were shoes. Vans, Nike, and Converse are perhaps the most well-known companies who have prided themselves in offering their clientele a choice for self-expression. For the ladies, it was Steve Madden, who back in 2007, had the internet crowd a buzz with it’s new service of customizing over 45 different styles of shoes in your own colors and trimmings. Sadly, as I looked at the site recently – customize thy shoes no more. It appears that this gold mine service is no longer in service on Steve Madden’s website. Maybe they didn’t anticipate the high demand for customizable heels?

Second, there are hats. Specifically baseball caps. In Montreal’s underground shopping mall there’s a highly successful small booth (yes booth, they don’t even have store) which attracts teenage boys like moths to its fiery needle that stitches original graphics onto blank baseball caps. A computer is set up to program the stitching machine, as well as implement any new designs the makers come up with. You can flip through an album with hundreds of premade designs like a tattoo example album.

Thirdly, underwear. Stores like Bang-On adds a personal touch to your daily undies by transferring graphics onto them by hot press. You might remember this as high school homework for Generation Y people. They mostly use American Apparel’s er, apparels, as they’re a perfect canvas to work on. Think CafePress, but cooler and in a retro 80s store.

Finally, we have sunglasses. Perhaps geared towards the more affluent clientele, sunglasses are just another new addition to the mix. “With custom glasses, you can choose not only the frame but also other components, such as the bridge — the piece that rests on the upper part of the nose — and the temples — the arms that go along the sides of the head,” according to the Wall Street Journal. Therefore, creating your own specs at your own specifications, much like custom made clothing.

As shoppers are given more and more choices, it’s only obvious that to stand out from the crowd, we must express our individualistic style. By that, other than dressing differently, how about adding your own personal touch by having someone else do it for you without breaking the bank? As the rich turn to bespoke clothing, the mass consumer will turn to customizing entities. While the likelihood of getting your apparels Gucci-fied is no longer possible due to trademark laws, getting custom made clothing at an affordable price could be a new luxury market that remains untapped. Surely it would be difficult to maintain every single individual style, but given a proper organized system, the idea can surely fly. If we can deck out our iPods, we can surely deck out our closet.

Call it Tailoring 2.0.