Customerizing Chinos.

• Position: What's New?

* We've spent a few decades ordering khaki chinos from Lands' End, Dodgeville, Wis., perfectly happy with the way they fit right off the shelf, having to specify nothing but waist size and length. As the years passed, though, and our body began to add inches in certain dimensions and lose them in others (were we really getting wider and shorter?), we found our selves taking newly ordered pants to the tailor for minor adjustments so they fit to our satisfaction. Then, much to our delight, came word that Lands' End was now offering customized chinos that would allow us to order slacks that would follow our altered topography faithfully. Eagerly, we went online and started the ordering process, with the ultimate result--after a few glitches en route--being a pair of khakis that fit as if it was made just for us. (Well, come to think of it, it was!)

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The operation begins by going online to www.landsend.com, then entering "custom" once you're connected. Providing an e-mail address and password generates a questionnaire that, as you follow it, starts to establish your requirements. You get to choose from four colors (fatigue khaki, light stone, sandstone, or true navy); plain or pleated front; hemmed or cuffed; short, regular, or long rise; and traditional close-to-the-body fit or relaxed, discreetly described as a bit roomier with a couple of extra inches in the seat and thigh. Once these parameters are laid out, you go on to actual measurements of waist, inseam, height, and weight, followed by more-subjective questions asking the shape of your thighs (slim, average, or full), seat (flat, average, prominent/high, or full/wide), and body proportion (long torso/short legs, evenly proportioned, short torso/long legs, average torso/long legs, or average torso/short legs). With all that data entered, the final decision is between classic chinos for $54 or carefree chinos with a wrinkle-free finish for $59.

We sat back and waited patiently the indicated two-three weeks and, as promised, the bespoke trousers arrived. To our dismay, they were too...