What is the Difference between
Leather and Vinyl?
This question may seem like, duh!!!, But you wouldn’t believe how many people come into our store in New Jersey and ask for leather, but mean vinyl.
Leather
Leather can be used to make anything from coats, boots, expensive pocketbooks, and even to upholster furniture. Leather is used in many of the same arenas as fabric and is a very popular clothing material. On the contrary, leather is not a fabric, it isn’t woven, knitted, wefted or piled in any way. Leather is made up of what you would call, aaaah, skin cells.
Leather is a skin that is sold by the skin and isn’t cut into yard increments. Some leather goods stores may have leftover scraps for sale, but please do not walk into a fabric store and ask for a yard of leather.
Vinyl. . . the man made leather.
The term vinyl is used interchangeably with many products such as music records, electronics, floor coverings and even siding for a house. When fabric weight vinyl was first introduced it has been called everything from Naugahyde, Pleather (plastic leather), to faux leather.
J&O’s vinyl is a synthetic made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) but we won’t go into the scientific defintions of vinyl types and all that it’s made of. We’ll leave that to someone who really cares. The vinyl we sell here at J&O Fabrics can be used in a variety of household items and is available in a variety of weights. Vinyl can be used for placemats, shower curtains, tablecloths etc.
The vinyl we sell at J&O is heavy-weight and can be used to upholster. Vinyl’s smooth surface and water resistent properties make it easy to clean with warm water and soap. Starting at $8.00 a yard, J&O strives to keep our prices competitive. We carry several types including Marine Grade, Felt Back, Expanding Back, and Textured to replicate various animal skins such as snake or alligator. If you want to know more about our different types of vinyls, visit the Vinyl Section of our website. We even have a few Paisley Vinyls, in addition to an array of Solid Colors and Clear Plastic.
New to our vinyl collection is our HOTTEST SELLING High Gloss Patent Leather (vinyl of course). If you’re interested in purchasing vinyl, you have to check it out!
Overall, the vinyl at J&O can be used interchangeably wherever leather is traditonally used. Take advantage of the new leaps made in technology over the years. Leather is an excellent material. . . but so is vinyl; it’s a lot less expensive and an animal is still alive because of it.
Posts by J&O Fabrics Store
It’s a good thing that you make emphasis on what really is the difference between leather and vinyl. This two interchangeable stuff really confuses many of the buyers and many of whom never even know what really vinyl is. So your article would be a great advantage to let the readers and buyers to understand what they really are looking for.