Especially for Women, a health boutique on Newberry Road in Gainesville, is the only local store of its kind — selling everything from prosthetic breasts and bras for women who have undergone mastectomies to compression hose, bras and pumps for women who are nursing.
The store even has a special section with a wide selection of wigs and turbans for women who have undergone chemotherapy.
Rita Toro, the boutique’s founder and owner, said the boutique has been around for 17 years.
“We just saw there was a need in the community,” she said. “My sister used to actually work for a store like this, and it closed… So, we opened up this store together because… all those women that used to go there didn’t know where they were going to go.”
Her sister has since left, she said.
Toro is also a registered nurse who is a board certified mastectomy fitter, according to the boutique’s website.
She said the store also offers the service of being able to file insurance for patrons through companies like Medicare, Medicaid, Blue Cross Blue Shield.
The store also includes what Toro calls the Angel’s Closet, which include items that people have donated if clients don’t have the means to pay for an item that they need.
