I've come to like these chairs more and more. They're vinyl, but feel like soft black leather. At first it bothered me that they're so short ... not a whole lot higher than our table. But as my husband pointed out, he's able to rest his arm along the back. That's a nice feature. And I'm getting used to the visual aspect of the lower chair. (Our last chairs, which unfortunately fell apart, had a much higher back.) I also like the look of the curved back.