Keep your eye on the grand old flag.

{Sweatshirt: Romwe | Jeans: Old Navy | Boots: Minnetonka | Watch: Nordstrom}

I'm pretty into all "USA" themed clothing. I saw this sweatshirt on Pinterest and bought it immediately. Do you see a trend here? Pinterest > buy immediately > where is my money? Yeah, I see that, too... (FYI, It's pretty much the softest and comfiest hoodie that I've ever had the pleasure of cuddling up in.)

P.S. Enjoy my thug life outtake.

P.P.S. Did you check out Aasim's guest post on holiday style earlier today? It's a laugh-out-loud and fashionably informative must-read!

P.P.P.S. Did you miss out on my My Memories Suite giveaway? (It's a great program - I use it to make my buttons and headers!) Well, now you've got a chance to win this fun scrapbooking/graphic design software from the lovely Sarah over at Think Twice Style!

Blogger Feature: Aasim of Sugar & Fluff

Hey, all! Blogger Features on The Daily Dani have returned! I've got some great guest posts and Q&As lined up and I'm so glad to have some great blogging friends back in action over here! First up for round 2, a (super talented and funny!) buddy of mine from college - Aasim of Sugar and Fluff Design House, here with some holiday party styling tips!

So you have that one holiday party that you have been waiting all December to go to. Everyone's talking about it. Yes, we understand "so and so" is going to be attending and you plan on getting all their attention.

Will you be looking 100% fresh? Are you sure? If you had to think twice about that… you should go ahead and keep reading.

The Facebook invite is titled "ugly x-mas" sweater party. The description says something like this: Dress in your ugly x-mas sweater, wear lots of red and green and don’t forget those Santa hats everyone.  Umm yeah, it doesn't really mean to wear an ugly sweater… I promise. Well, I don't think you should wear that ugly sweater. There are going to be a hundred people at this party, 30 you only see once a year and 70 people you are going to see for the first time. Do you really want to look like a mess? Didn’t think so.

Guys… you don't want to cop out, but you don't want to look like Santa's Helper, either. Fair Isle sweaters are pretty cool right now. They are perfect for the holidays… but don't over do it. The key is to layer it and wear a color that isn’t too loud. Loud meaning a bright pink or yellow. Think the Fair Isle style is too out there for you? How about rocking a letterman jacket? Once again, keep it subtle, guys. You never want to look like you raided Michael J Fox’s closet.

 via 1 2

Now it’s time for the ladies. You want to stand out, right? Listen to me and try to wear black on black. Yes, this is a Jay-Z and Kanye music video. And no I am not joking. Every other chick is going to be wearing some bright red sweater dress and some tacky looking glitter purse. Don’t even think about it. Leave the glitter to Ke$ha and Katy. Okay, you're right. It is the holidays; you can go a bit “cray” with the glitter. Don’t you want to see the look on your “bestfrenemy” when you walk into the door? I do! She’s going to be looking like a hot mistletoe mess while you are going to be looking classy. You want some color? Put it on them lips.

via calvin klein fall 2011 lookbook 1 2 3

I hope my quick tips will help you looking fresh and effortless at your holiday party. I promise that Mr. Bieber - err I mean “so and so” - will see how stunning you are and fall in love with your beautiful style at first sight. 

To catch more holiday hilarity and loveliness, head over to Sugar and Fluff Design House for event design, style photo shoots, and graphic design. Thanks, Aasim!

Rainbow BRIGHT.

{Plaid shirt: American Apparel | Cardigan: Forever 21 | Jeans: Old Navy | Flower pins: crewcuts | Shoes: Gift | Watch: Nordstrom}

Well, it doesn't get much more colorful than this! I guess I could have thrown on a pair of pink pants, eh? Anyway, this rainbow plaid makes me super happy, and so do these hand-painted shoes my friend Marcy made me in high school, in honor of my former AIM screen name, "dani disco duck." I actually misplaced them for years. Well, one of them. It seemed I'd always find one, and then by the time I'd found its pair, the original would go missing. Lucky for me, I've got one complete (and magical) pair now.

In other news, whatever happened to Rainbow Brite?

Wear*It Wednesday: Leather Jackets!

The time has come! Wear*It Wednesday: Leather Jackets here on The Daily Dani is finally here, and I've got some great looks from across the board to share with you!

Heather & Kayla from H&K Style Journey:

Heather & Kayla sent me in the direction of their Mother/Daughter Remix: The Leather Jacket. How awesome are this adorable mom-daughter duo's leather jacket looks?! Not only do they show great ways to wear a leather jacket in their own styles, but they even remixed it multiple ways for themselves! Great looks!

Jessica of the Midwest Muse:

Jessica sent me two great remixes of her leather jacket - one with a softer edge and one with a tougher style - and look how great she looks in both! She really shows how versatile this wardrobe essential can be!

Emma of behind the leopard glasses:

Emma sent me this adorable photo of her classic-cut leather jacket. It works so well with her tried-and-true outfit - and then she kicks it up a notch with those killer shoes! Adorable!

Mandy of Juggling Chic:

 Mandy is oh-so-lovely in this juxtaposition of her super feminine pink dress and rocker chic leather jacket and boots! And I LOVE those glasses!

Myah of My Favorite F's:

How awesome is Myah's red studded leather jacket?! Talk about a statement piece! This outfit has major WOW factor - the bright colors and beautiful scarf - what a fun way to style a classic piece!

Angie of The Hotness Your Momma Warned You About:

 

Angie & I thought it would be a great twist on the leather trend to include these leather shorts - aren't they bananas? They are super adorable and a great way to wear leather if the weather is warm or you're just in the mood for a new look!

Jeff of The Midwestyle & Katie of But First, Coffee:

Last week, when I was thinking about my upcoming hosting of Wear*It Wednesday, I saw Jeff's Instagram photo and thought, "What a great example of styling a leather jacket for men!" And then I saw Katie's Instagram! She "borrowed" Jeff's jacket and styled it on herself - this just shows how multifaceted a great leather jacket could be to anyone's wardrobe - whether it's menswear or not! 

Bekah of Matters of Merrymaking:

What would a Daily Dani feature be without my B(logging)BFF Bekah? This merrymaker looks just smashing in her yummy caramel-colored leather jacket. Plus, in my opinion, leopard print kicks up any outfit to the next level! Looking good, chickadee!

 Rachel of for the birds:

Look who it is - our fearless Wear*It Wednesday leader! Rachel dressed up her leather jacket with a beautiful blue dress, fun colored tights, and precious pumps! I wouldn't have expected any less - Rachel executed her leather jacket look flawlessly!

{Leather jacket: Target | Sweater & Boots: Yes Style | Jeans: Hudson}

You didn't think I'd leave myself out, did ya?! I've actually been wearing my black & brown leather jackets pretty frequently lately, as it's finally gotten a little chillier around these parts. I was excited to pair this with my nordic sweater today, because I thought it was a nice little mix-and-match of cozy and tough, with a bit of sweetness in my bow boots! 

How about the rest of you? How do YOU style your leather jackets?!

One more day till Wear*It Wednesday: Leather Jackets!

That's right - tomorrow is Wear*It Wednesday: Leather Jackets, hosted right here on The Daily Dani! Make sure you get your outfit photos to me today so I can feature your awesome looks on the blog tomorrow! E-mail me asap, ladies and gents! (That's right, I said gents! - I'd love some great photos of you awesome menswear bloggers in leather, too - or ladies, send in photos of your handsome hubbies & boyfriends!)

Check in tomorrow to see some great looks!

Everybody Everywear: Sequins + Sparkles!

{Cardigan, Sweater, & Watch: Nordstrom | Skeleton tank: ??? | Leggings: Target | Boots: Steve Madden}

Hey-o! I'm finally participating in another Everybody, Everywear! I must admit to you, as much as I love all things sparkly and glitterific... I don't really do sequins! I don't have very many sequined items, so I wasn't sure if I could participate this month - until I remembered this "skeleton" tank I bought years ago... I saw it on an episode of NYC Prep. Remember that reality gem? Remember Sebastian and his pre-Bieber hair flip? Anyway, through a magical google search, I discovered this tank and bought it - and promptly wore it about two times.

Make sure you check out how some more fabulous bloggers styled their sequins & sparkles!

In other news, have you all heard of Runway Junkie? A friend of mine from high school actually works for the site and sent me in their direction! Runwayjunkie.com is an online marketplace for women’s designer clothing and accessories, but that's not all. They also donate 10% of our net profits to a variety of women’s organizations. And there's more - they are currently having a selling contest that runs through Dec 31. All you have to do is become a seller on Runwayjunkie.com and list items to sell and you can enter to win a L.A.M.B. handbag, Prada sunglasses, or a Missoni scarf. Use the coupon code CONTEST when checking to enter to win and get FREE listings!

There are many reasons I can't wait till winter break, but one is so I can do a major closet clean-out/purge... and now I've found a great place to sell some of the items that don't work in my wardrobe anymore and hopefully they can work for someone else! Check it out!

(Hardly) Winter Wonderland.

{Shirt: Old Navy | Cords: Urban Outfitters | Boots: Yes Style | Heart pin: bando | Hat: T.J. Maxx? | Watch: Nordstrom}

The other day, I discovered North Meets South's "Open to Interpretation" through Rebecca's blog post! I was too late to link up to this week's OTI outfit, but you can bet I went for it anyway!

I was pretty happy with how it turned out. I'm still in the market for the perfect pair of brown oxfords - but how great are these boots that I found?! They were floating around Pinterest, and they provided me with yet another all-too-familiar "have to have it" rush! I think the bows are absolutely charming!'

And yes, I did get made fun of all day for wearing this hat. And yes, it did get to be about 75 degrees making my head feel like it was inside of a microwave. Sigh.

P.S. Did you check out my Anjolee Jewelry review yet?