database best practice question

hi folks,

i'd like some advice about how to approach this database "problem". i have a website that sells products that are customizable, and are organized in lists. i can't give the details of the actual product, but i'll offer this baby clothes analogy:

happy hat(tm) beanie: fuzzy ball => true, pattern => striped, color => [blue, white] angry feet(tm) shoes: color => white, laces => fat pretty okay(tm) shirt: material => lead

the clothes are customized and saved in "outfits" created by users. my question is:

should i create database tables for each user-created outfit? that seems like it would get out of hand. is there a better way?

how long do the outfits need to be retained? do they need to be saved only until the user places an order/ reorders the product? are you planning to save the outfits for reporting?

thanks for the reply guys. the outfits would be retained for long periods of time (~6 months or so).

lvizon wrote: