They are now her painting jeans, she said.

The hunt was on for another pair - another perfect fit.

Ms. Cook was held captive by fashion-industry sizes - never mind that the standards didn't seem to include her combination of measurements. She tried every store and couldn't seem to find jeans that fit all over. If they fit in one area they were too big in another.

The story is familiar to most women.

According to Cotton Incorporated's Lifestyle Monitor, a newsletter devoted to trends in apparel and home furnishings, nearly half of all women report they cannot find their size in clothes they like.

After two years, Ms. Cook finally found a pair of jeans that fit.

Clothing manufacturers say they have the answer to the perpetual search for the perfect fit. It is called mass customization, a term that seems an oxymoron.

The idea is that shoppers can have clothing, shoes or makeup designed for their individual tastes and measurements.

"The consumer now is really empowered," said Peter del Rio, co-founder and CEO of Interactive Custom Clothes Company, a company that sells custom-made clothes exclusively online.

Levi Strauss was one of the pioneers in mass customization. It launched the made-to-measure program in 1995. The company currently offers custom-made Original Spin jeans, although they are not yet offered in Georgia and South Carolina.

"Every single body is unique in size, proportion, dimension and how all this goes together," said Jen Crook, manager of mass customization for Levi's. "There are many combinations of waist and hip in the Original Spin program, instead of one combination from an off-the-shelf product."

Making all those combinations would be an inventory impossibility, Ms. Crook said.

With Levi's made-to-measure jeans, shoppers have to visit a designated Levi's store to be measured by a professional. Other apparel Web sites include directions for measuring yourself.

The key to making this work from the manufacturer's end is computers, said Bert Kolz, manager of Land's End Custom department.

Otherwise, "I think it would be possible, but it would be very time-consuming. It would take months," he said.

At Land's End, for $54, shoppers can choose from color, rise, pocket style, leg style and fit (natural or relaxed) to create their custom jeans. Men and women shoppers can send in their measurements, and have jeans, chino's or dress pants made-to-measure.

They began in November 2001 with chinos for men and women.

Since then, they have added men's and women's blue jeans and dress shirts and pants for men.

"It's new to Land's End; it's certainly new to the industry," Mr. Kolz said.

The response has exceeded expectations.

"When people come to our Web site, 40 percent of them are buying the custom," he said.

In the apparel industry, a clothing manufacturer uses a fitting model to design their clothes. So, all of the sizing is based on one person's measurements.

"What happens is, each brand has to find a fit model that they want to make the clothes for. And then they make it for that person and for sizes higher and lower," Interactive Custom Clothes Company's Mr. del Rio said. "If you don't fit into that schematic, that bell curve, you are underserved. I think the great value of this is that for the first time the consumer is well served."

Mass customization eliminates the fitted model. Consumers become their own model.

"We have to make every pattern from scratch if we're really going to fit the customer perfectly," Mr. del Rio said.

"For the apparel industry, that's very important because most products are returned one out of three times. For the customer, what it really means is getting exactly what they want."

Interactive Custom Clothes Company, which sells exclusively online at www.ic3d.com, is one of Britney Spears' favorite Web sites, according to the December 2001 issue of Elle magazine's French edition. They make pants, shorts and jeans, but they specialize in jeans.

"Over 660 million of them were bought last year and sold in America; over a billion globally. And secondly, jeans are one of the most difficult things to fit properly," Mr. del Rio said.

At ic3d.com, shoppers can choose their preferred fabric, fit (slim, natural, relaxed), ankle (tapered, straight, boot cut or flared), waist rise and number of belt loops, front and back pockets, fly (zip, button, exposed button or lace up), hardware, label and the color of thread.

Cost starts at about $75 and goes up to $125, depending on the fabric, which can be as basic as denim or as luxurious as leather or velvet.

If you already own the perfect pair of jeans, but cannot find them in stores anymore, you can have them duplicated through ic3d.com.

You have to part with your pants long enough to mail them in, and for about $100 the company will duplicate the measurements, cut and style. They even will make small changes, such as an extra inch at the waist or hips.

But the apparel industry doesn't have the market cornered on custom-made products. Computer companies, such as Dell and Gateway have been offering custom-built computers, Nike.com lets shoppers customize their athletic shoes and www.reflect.com allows shoppers to create makeup and skin and hair products for specific needs.

Employees from Textile Clothing Technology Corporation said mass customization will be a win-win-win situation, benefiting the consumer, retailer and manufacturer.

For manufacturers, theoretically, there should be fewer markdowns and leftover inventory. Retailers can avoid potentially lost sales by giving customers exactly what they want and also gain financially with fewer markdowns.

CUSTOM MADE

Here are some of the places where custom-made products are available. Return policies vary.

CLOTHES