Washington, Dec 17 : As the date of Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony draws near, women in Washington DC are making sure that they do not turn up for the event wearing the same outfit as someone else - and they have found the ultimate solution to the problem-DressRegistry. com.

At the 2006 Kennedy Center Honors, first lady Laura Bush found herself in an awkward position when she showed up at the event in the same red Oscar de la Renta gown worn by three other women there.

According to fashion industry guru Cynthia O''Connor, the problem is quite serious as high-end stores are stocking fewer gowns than usual this year, which might increase a woman''s likelihood of appearing at an inaugural ball in the same outfit as somebody else.

But, at DressRegistry. com, you can "register" your dress by event (Democracy Ball, Patriot Ball, Hawaii Inauguration Ball, etc.) and thus leaving no chance to see "your identical twin" at the event.

In fact, by logging in, you can also get an idea of the style of dress each ball demands.

"Through our site, women can register their own inaugural gowns for free and review the types of gowns others will be wearing. The one thing they can''t do is see who is wearing what. That would be cheating," The Washington Times quoted Andrew Jones, DressRegistry. com founder, as saying.

Christina Travers, a New York fashion designer behind her own label, Grace, has suggested a rather costly solution to avoid Mrs. Bush''s "red dress incident"- custom-design gowns for the inauguration.

"I knew there was a need. This is an experience I know firsthand. There are going be quite a number of events, and women are looking for special things to mark the occasion, so as you can imagine the response has been quite strong," said Ms. Travers. (ANI)