I recently had a conversation with a fetish garment salesperson about how various companies (they didn't point fingers, so I don't know which ones) will sell vinyl garments as patent leather, and it annoyed me to death. They are not the same thing. Patent leather is extremely high quality leather with a lacquer finish to bring it to mirror shine. Vinyl is vinyl. They are two entirely different things with two different care regimens and completely different values. Be wary of vinyl being passed off as patent leather when making purchases and don't be afraid to return something if it isn't leather. less