Sewn With Love
Alterations by Rita celebrates 18 years in Southwest Florida
Rita Dascioriene calls her alterations shop on Kelly Road in Fort Myers her “little home.” That nickname isn’t simply a testament to the shop’s size or to the warm reception Dascioriene gives her clients, it’s an acknowledgment of why she opened the shop in the first place: to spend time with her family. Dascioriene and her daughter, Daisy Steele, opened the store in 2001 as a way to work while watching Dascioriene’s 6-month-old granddaughter, Gabriella.
“We had a separate room for my grandchild and the shop for alterations in the same place,” Dascioriene says with a laugh. Two years later, Dascioriene welcomed her second grandchild into the shop. She and Steele were able to work while both grandchildren played alongside them.
The tailoring world was no mystery to Dascioriene, who went to design school in her native Lithuania with a focus on creating
Dascioriene’s tailoring experience, speedy alterations and aboveand-beyond approach to customer service have helped her business thrive on a loyal customer base.
men’s suits and coats and continued after graduation to start a career in the fashion industry. She moved to the United States with her husband and daughter in the late ’90s after visiting a friend in Fort Myers and falling in love with the area.
Dascioriene and Steele worked together at Alterations by Rita—Dascioriene focusing on altering and creating clothing from scratch, Steele focusing on jewelry—for several years before Steele moved on to work in her husband’s business.
Now Dascioriene offers alterations by appointment and is in the shop on weekdays excluding Thursdays. “I love clothes,” she says. “I love making clothes, and I love to make sure clothes fit perfectly.”
Dascioriene’s tailoring experience, speedy alterations and above-and-beyond approach to customer service have helped her business thrive on a loyal customer base. Sanibel resident Sandy Grogman has been an Alterations by Rita client since 2001, when Dascioriene showed her a simple act of kindness that left a huge impression.
“I was taking my mother to the airport and her pants hem was hanging down,” Grogman recalls. “I saw the alterations sign and ran into Alterations by Rita thinking maybe she had a pin or something.”
When Grogman explained the situation, Dascioriene asked her to bring her mother in so she could quickly repair the pant leg. Grogman told Dascioriene that her mother, who had recently had a stroke, would move very slowly from the car to the shop and they were in a rush to get to the airport. Dascioriene asked what color pants her mother was wearing.
“She ran outside with the right color thread and a needle and sewed my
mom’s hem right there—and would not take any money for it,” Grogman says. Now, she goes to Alterations by Rita for all of her tailoring needs and has recommended the shop to many friends.
“You never know what that simple kindness will do for people,” Grogman says of Dascioriene’s act.
Fort Myers resident Cheryl Fleming also recommends Alterations by Rita to her network of friends. “I’ve used a lot of alterations people in the last 22 years I’ve lived in Florida, and she is the best,” Fleming says. Fleming and her husband have used Alterations by Rita exclusively for six years now and appreciate how quickly Dascioriene works.
“I always look forward to going to her place. She’s warm, she is creative, she’s very good at what she does,” Fleming says.
Although “alterations” is in the name, Dascioriene also enjoys making clothing from scratch. She made her daughter’s wedding dress and makes clothing for customers by request.
She even teaches small group sewing classes on Saturdays. “I try to take no more than four people because then I can really teach them,” she says. “I am more than happy to teach them whatever I know.”
Dascioriene says her students are generally between the ages of 11 and 17, and they come to her classes because of a genuine interest in sewing, not because their parents have told them to go. “They really want to know; they are asking for the skills,” she says.
According to Dascioriene, by the fourth four-hour class, her students go from struggling to hand-stitch items to creating their own tote bags, pillow covers and simple items of clothing with a sewing machine.
In April 2019, Alterations by Rita moved to a smaller unit in the same building, but Dascioriene is still keeping busy with clothing and upholstery work, with no plans to retire.
“I like my people, and I like what I’m doing, and I’m not ready to quit,” she says.
You can reach Alterations by Rita at 239
437-7482 or visit the shop at
11595 Kelly Road in Fort Myers.
Nina Barbero is a freelance journalist based in Southwest Florida.