Custom Shoe (nation)

Customizing products on the Web for order and delivery has intrigued me from the git-go. From Cisco routers to Nike Shoes to VW Bugs... I'm pleased it flourished at least enough for me to lose track of the progress.
A quick survey this morning left me satiated, better-shoed, and even entertained.
If you click one link from this post, check out Puma's Mongolian Shoe BBQ (it rhymes; and, it's a stitch)...
MongolianShoeBBQ.Puma.com
If you click a second link, here is where I created my (totally awesome) Converse pictured above...
Converse.com
The level of interactivity involved, along with the emphasis on style, seems to lead everyone to use Flash. That's interesting if you think about more and more industries adopting (?) this means of customer engagement.
Well, Nike didn't invent all this of course. There was always the world of high-performance dance and heels. For a little less glitz but a lot more shoe, check out
ShoeUSA
The half-dozen others, in case you're dying to customize your favorite brand.
Vans (via GiftAmerica)
Reebok (RBK as their newer version of their name, aparently. RBKcustom.com as the website.)
Nike (interesting branding... NikeID.nike.com. So, Nike Identity?)
Etnies (interesting URL choice: ME.etnies.com)
Isn't it interesting how shoes feel like an appropriate way to differentiate ourselves - to rebel against standards, while still fitting in. Our own custom form of (whatever everyone is wearing...) Converse.
By the way, for custom t-shirts, jackets, coffee mugs, custom poster art, mouse pads, bumper stickers, etc etc... there's always Zazzle, "Infinite one-of-a-kindness."
One more way to visualize the Long Tail.
I'm still waiting for my custom pizza-for-delivery interface, though. If I find it, i'll link to it here:
http://del.icio.us/apckrd/custom_products(byWeb)