aligning 2 divs side by side

Question

I've seen a lot of these questions asked but none answered my question. I'm trying to align 2 divs side by side. The divs have the same class as they are pulled dynamically with php. I can't figure out how to align it! Here's the code:

<div class="holder">
<a href="#" class="item">
</a>
<a href="#" class="item">
</a>
</div>

.holder {
float:left;
width:40%;
margin: 0 10px 0 0; 
}

.item {
padding:7px;
display:block;
text-decoration:none;
margin:0 0 15px;
}

Answer 1

Use display:inline-block

.item {
padding:7px;
display:inline-block;
text-decoration:none;
margin:0 0 15px;
}

Fiddle Demo

or display:inline

.item {
padding:7px;
display:inline;
text-decoration:none;
margin:0 0 15px;
}

Fiddle Demo

Answer 2

.holder {
  float:left;
  width:40%;
  margin: 0 10px 0 0; 
}
.item {
  padding:7px;display:inline;
  text-decoration:none;
  margin:0 0 15px;
}

http://jsfiddle.net/3WZaf/