American Visionary Art Museum gala

Putting together a creative, on-trend outfit to fit the garden theme of the American Visionary Art Museum gala came as second nature to Erika Ezerskiene Haines, thanks to the 34-year-old’s background and current business. Now a resident of Baltimore’s Bayview neighborhood, Haines grew up in Lithuania, where the proverb, “Necessity is the mother of invention,” proved all too true. “We lived there in a time when we were occupied by Russians. There was a [recession] . ... If we wanted to have something, we had to make it,” she said. In addition to remaking used clothes, Gaines said, she made dolls for her sister and herself to play with. That led Gaines to a career that is blossoming here. Although she first started her business, Candy Tree Baltimore, doing candy gifts, she found customers were more enamored with the paper decorations she made for the boxes. So she adapted. Now, business is booming for the huge paper flowers she creates. So when it came time to decorating herself for the party, she altered a dress she had been given, to match the evening’s floral theme while staying true to her own creative nature. HER STYLE: “I would say brave. Sometimes people [will] look at some more extravagant and interesting pieces and [be] afraid to buy it. But I am grabbing it if I know where and how I will match it.” IT’S ABOUT THE ENTIRE LOOK: “I cannot buy something spontaneously because I’m always thinking what can I wear it with. I buy two things together.”