If the shoe fits, wear it. If not, design one that does

如果鞋子不合脚就自己设计一双

　　[1]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.

　　[2]It’s not that retailers don’t try, as the huge shoe sections in department stores and Web sites 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.

　　[3]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.

　　[4]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.

　　[5]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. “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?’”

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

　　[7]For women who are willing to spend a hefty sum, there is Tupli. “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.

　　[8]Amolyn Peart, a banking manager who has purchased three pairs of shoes from the company, became intrigued with the idea after spotting a woman wearing Tupli footwear (a name derived from the Russian word for shoe) at a business gathering.

　　[9]“The shoes were so gorgeous and unusual, so I immediately asked her where she got them,” said Ms. Peart, of West Orange, N.J. Like many people, she is hard to fit: her shoe size is between and 9, and ready-made shoes are often too tight in the toe.

　　[10]Tupli’s clients — who include the actress Susan Sarandon — have a choice of leather and suede, as well as embellishments like rhinestones and personal logos, and initials on the upper or even on the sole, said Ms. Myczowski.

　　[11]The first made-to-measure Tupli shoe that Ms. Peart designed for herself was a black and red pump for an event at work. “Everyone noticed it, especially because they were all wearing black shoes,” she recalled. Since then, she has ordered another pair of shoes and a pair of boots.

　　[12]Prices for Tupli shoes start at a hefty $750 for shoes and $1,450 for boots, and customers must wait six to eight weeks for them.

　　[13]Those who want a less expensive made-to-order shoe that won’t take as long to arrive can turn to Stevemadden.com. Steven Madden, founder of the company, says more than 100,000 pairs of design-your-own shoes have been sold through the site, where the prices range from $90 to $170.

　　[14]That’s what Robert Klemm, 27, a loan officer in Bethpage, N.Y., did last summer after he learned about Steve Madden Ltd.’s “Design Your Own Collection.” A shoe aficionado — he owns 60 pairs — he wanted to create some shoes to surprise his girlfriend, Kate Feehan, for her birthday.

　　[15]Starting with her size, 9, he clicked through the site to select a style, heel and color, putting together a navy gingham open-toe pump with a cork heel and sole that Mr. Klemm thought “would look good with everything from jeans to dresses.”

　　[16]He spent $150 plus shipping and tax. The site charges a 20 percent premium for made-to-order shoes, which are assembled in China and are not returnable. The turnaround time is three weeks, according to the site.

　　[17]RIGHT now, Stevemadden.com has almost no online competition. But Jeffrey Van Sinderen, apparel analyst for B. Riley & Company in Los Angeles, predicted that other makers would not be far behind, despite the large investment needed to set up a factory to make the shoes and a system to distribute them.

　　[18]Made-to-order shoes are profitable, he said, and “it answers the question of how you make the product more compelling to the consumer, and that’s to give them the power to design it.”

　　[19]In shoes, passion often trumps the practical. To Mary A. Johnson, 22, online design is about owning something unique. Ms. Johnson, a student at West Los Angeles College, owns 200 pairs of shoes, but that didn’t stop her from going to Stevemadden.com recently to design some ballet flats in a purple shade and trimming them in red. “This is something you make yourself,” she said, “instead of settling for what’s out there.”

　　参考译文：

　　[1]即使对最热衷购物的人而言，要找到一双合脚的鞋也并非易事。无论在网上还是商场，一家挨一家的鞋店寻觅都非常花时间。购物者可能觉得他们已¾¬找到了理想的鞋，但其大小、款式或颜色则可能不太合适。

　　[2]这并不是因为零售商没有尽力，商场里大量的鞋柜与网上鞋店可证明这点。但针对那些对于鞋子有自己独特与苛刻要求并且有钱的购物者，一些网上零售商则提供了可自行设计的选择。运动鞋的定做可能更为普遍，但现在，时装鞋的定做业务也开始兴起。

　　[3]万斯与耐克等制鞋商提供鞋类定做业务，不论男女都可根据现有款式、颜色与材质创造出他们自己的式样。

　　[4]加利福尼亚亨廷顿的大学生¿¬尔•瓦尔德斯为他上月举办的婚礼，曾在万斯网站找到了一双具有纪念意义的鞋。他为自己的婚宴设计了一些红黑相间的帆布休闲鞋，包括为他岳父准备的一双配套的系带鞋。“我的伴郎则穿黑色晚礼服与红色马甲，所以我们都感觉穿上红鞋一定会很棒。”他所说的休闲鞋一双要40美元。

　　[5]吸引了大量男女顾客的耐克网站也有很多顾客定做了成百双鞋。布鲁克林的嘻哈音乐节目主持人克À¬克•肯特就在此网站上设计了350双鞋。他说：“最大吸引力在于能给人带来震撼的感觉，你想要一双能够引起人们注意的鞋子，人们见了就会问你：‘是在哪里买的?’”

　　[6]定做运动鞋在很多运动鞋网站上都能找到，但要找到时装鞋则较为困难，尽管不是没有可能。

　　[7]对于那些愿意花重金的女士来说，她们可以去图布里。“对于那些能想象出完美之鞋却又找不到的女士来说，这里是理想之所，”34岁的¿¬茜•米茨奥沃斯基说。她与26岁的塔玛À¬•查比尼德兹一同创办了个人鞋业设计业务。塔玛À¬来自乔治亚共和国，在那里定做鞋的业务更为普遍，图布里的鞋就是在那里制作的。

　　[8]银行¾¬理艾默琳•皮尔特曾从该公司购买过3双鞋，在一次商业聚会上看到一位妇女穿着图布里(源于俄语“鞋的”单词)鞋之后，便对这个主意很感兴趣。

　　[9]“这些鞋看起来如此漂亮而且与众不同，所以我立即问她是在哪里买的，”来自新泽西州西奥兰治的皮尔特女士说。就像很多人一样，她也很难找到合脚的鞋：她的鞋码在与9之间，通常成鞋穿起来在脚趾处都比较紧。

　　[10]米茨奥沃斯基女士说，图布里的客户，包括女演员苏珊•萨À¬顿，可选择皮鞋或绒面革鞋，也可选择人造钻石与印在鞋面或鞋底的个人标识或姓名首字母等装饰。

　　[11]皮尔特女士为自己设计的第一双鞋是工作活动时穿的黑红相间的无带平跟女鞋。“每个人都注意到了我的鞋，因为他们穿的鞋都是黑色的，”她回忆道。从那时起，她又定做了一双鞋与一双靴子。

　　[12]图布里鞋的起价为750美元，靴子为1450美元，顾客必须要等上6至8周才能拿到鞋。

　　[13]那些想买便宜点的并想快点拿到定做鞋的顾客可到史蒂夫马登网站去购买。该公司创始人史蒂夫•马登说，通过该网站已卖出了10万双定做鞋，价格从90美元至170美元不等。

　　[14]这也是罗伯特•克莱姆去年夏天在听说史蒂夫马登公司“自我设计系列”后所做的。他27岁，是一名来自纽约州贝斯佩奇的信贷员。他是一个购鞋狂(拥有60双鞋)，他希望为女朋友¿¬特.菲恩设计一些鞋子，并在她生日时给她一个惊喜。

　　[15]从他女友的鞋码9选起，然后他通过网站，选择款式、鞋跟与颜色，这样就设计成了海军方格布软木鞋跟与鞋底的露趾平跟鞋，克莱姆先生认为“这双鞋无论是配牛仔裤还是正装都十分合适。”

　　[16]他一共花费了150美元的邮费与税。该网站对定做鞋另外收取20%的费用，这些鞋在中国生产且不可退货。根据网站信息，完成时间为3周。

　　[17]目前史蒂夫马登网站几乎没有遇到网上竞争。但洛杉机B•赖利公司服装分析师杰费里•范•辛德伦预测，其他制造商也会在不久后进入该市场，尽管建立一家制鞋厂与一个销售系统需要很大的投资。

　　[18]定做鞋行业是有利可图的，他说：“它解决了如何生产出对顾客更有吸引力产品的问题，那就是让他们自己设计。”

　　[19]对于鞋子，热情通常超越其实用性。对于22岁的玛丽•A•约翰逊来说，在线设计就等同于拥有一些独特的东西。西洛杉矶大学学生约翰逊女士则拥有200双鞋子，但这并不能阻止她最近到史蒂夫马登网站设计一些用红边装饰的紫色芭蕾舞鞋。她说：“这是你自己制作的东西，而不是买那些现成的。”

• 6小时掌握学英语的秘诀！——点击看答案
• 你，有EMAIL就能学好英语!—点击看答案