Well -- you're still spoilt for choice.

How about a seat belt bag, made from recycled seat belts in a criss cross pattern? Strong, colorful and very different.

Or new Licence Plate handbags -- made from cleaned and recycled licence plates, handbags that are literally bent into shape with hinged flaps.

Then there are evening bags, made from velvet.

Ugg handbags - made from treated sheepskin -- some of which also double up as a handbag and muff!

Beijo handbags are made purely from polyvinyl -- tough and incredibly easy to wipe clean.

Some of Louis Vuitton high end bags are made from a mix of cowhide leather or canvas with ostrich leather for trim and decoration!

You can even still pick up some handbags made from crocodile skin -- albeit from pre owned market!

The choice of materials is quite mind boggling. Just about anything you can think of as a suitable material to use for building a handbag has already been done.

The only real question is -- What do you want your handbag to say about you?

If your solid, traditional and dependable -- go for leather.

If your funky and chic -- try seat belt bag.

If your different and a bit of a trend setter, not a trend follower, either go with Licence Plate handbags or design and make your own.

What's lying about round your house that you could use as a material?

If it's a really 'top notch' name like Hermes or Versace then you need to add your name to a wait list. This list can stretch to more than two years for certain bags.

Everybody ranks different designers according to their budget -- assigning in their mind a scale to attain. The same as everyone looks to upgrade their home or car, designer handbag lovers always aspire to move into next bracket of handbag.

But I think that biggest means by which designer name handbags prosper and grow or fade away with a whimper is down to good old communication.

Work with me for a minute!

How many bags do you own?

Of those, how many are from same house?

Now then -- of those from same designer, same design house label, how many did you buy after someone else had spoken to you about it?

It can be anything from a simple comment that someone dropped in a conversation, to a friend specifically emailing you to tell you about super dooper new XXX from house of XXXX!

Now work backwards.

How many handbags do you own that you wouldn't have bought unless someone communicated about it to you?

1? 5? 10?

That communication has helped designer sell more of his handbags than he would have normally, which in turn helps to build up his reputation and strength of his name!

Design houses can (and often do!) throw as much money as they like into their advertising and marketing campaigns. The latest rake thin super model graces pages and posters, clutching latest Hackyunaki hobenger bag to their bosom and beaming insanely!

"I'm beautiful only because I hold a Hackyunaki bag" they seem to say to you.

But if people who buy and use their products don't talk about them in glowing terms, if they don't love them SOOOO much that they have to tell all their friends abut them, they'll never become a success in world of designer handbags.

So answer to riddle of what makes a particular designer handbag a success is -- you!

You make designer name handbags popular and a success as much as you have power to make them a failure, never to waste store space again!

Just by loving them and talking about them!