Featured Blogger: The Daily Dani!

Hi there, Harley & Jane readers! I'm Dani, from The Daily Dani! I post daily outfit photos, weekly blogger features, and the occasional celeb fashion update!

When Harley & Jane asked me to write up a post about how I decided to start my blog and the process that it has been to get to where I are now, I was immediately excited about the idea - and then I was immediately terrified... because that's a great question! How did I decide to start my blog? What has the process been to get where I am now?

Well, let's start at the very beginning...

Towards the end of 2010, I became an avid reader of a select few fashion blogs. Most specifically: The Glamourai, Cupcakes & Cashmere, Snappy Casual, and perhaps most importantly, Kendi Everyday.

I became engrossed in Kelly's high-end style. I was a slave for Emily's savvy mix of high & low. I loved Kelsey's mix of fashion & lifestyle. Kendi's outfits wowed me & her sense of humor wowed me even more. What started as a mild interest in the world of professional blogging and (currently) unaffordable fashions lead me in the direction of the other end of the style blogging world: "real girls" with real budgets, read wardrobes, and just as fashionable style. Kendi's 30x30 Remix blew my mind.

It was after months of reading these and other blogs avidly that, in January 2011, I decided to start The Daily Dani.

With my trusty photographer (my mom) and my amazing digital camera (a circa 2005 Canon PowerShot) in tow, I began taking daily outfit photos. Like many others, I believe, I was immediately concerned with how many Google Friend Connect followers I had/could get, who was following me on Twitter, who would return my comments... and then I realized, I just needed to calm down! Blogging isn't about how many people are reading your words or looking at your photos. Blogging is about posting what is true to you and what you feel like! Readers and followers will come, when they make a connection with what you are posting about and with your true voice. If you aren't genuine to whom you are or to your character, blogging can become a chore rather than an enjoyable, creative outlet! I personally prefer the latter!

Only a few weeks into blogging, I embarked on the first of two 30 for 30 challenges I participated in.

If I had to pinpoint two key elements that blogging has opened up to me, these remixes would be the catalyst of the first: whether your wardrobe is made up of 15, 50, or 500 items, it is equally as versatile and full of endless options! To realize that the different ways you can mix, layer, and accessorize the pieces in your wardrobe can expand your style exponentially has been an asset that will stay with me forever! Thank you, Kendi, our fearless leader!

The second thing that creating my own little niche in the blogosphere has brought me is cultivating friendships with amazing bloggers all across the country! (Oh, and Canada, too.) I even have what I'll consider my own personal "Bling Ring," my blogging besties... Bekah, Sarah, and Sarah.

Who knew that ladies who live in Tennessee, Texas, and Louisiana would become as close to me as some friends I have living within a 30-minute radius? I couldn't be more grateful.

If I could give any advice to those who are interested in beginning, or just starting out, in the blogging world, it would be this: Don't be afraid to be you! Take your time, find your niche, and keep your content unique and original. You won't regret it. I know I'm better for it, and I just bet you will be, too. :)

Please come say hello to me over at The Daily Dani! Thanks for having me, Harley & Jane!

***

Isn't she great? Her blog rocks. So go read it. :)