Sarah Turbo, Tailor and Seamstress in Walker's Point

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Her Story

Sarah Turbo is a tailor and seamstress who specializes in formal alterations and sewing projects. Previously operating as CINCH Tailoring with a Riverwest storefront, she recently moved into a new Walker’s Point studio located above Promises Bar in the former Walker’s Point Creative Collective. She works with clients via appointment-based meetings arranged either through email or Instagram.

Sewing started as a hobby for Sarah Turbo at her parents’ dining room table when she was younger. “I would stay up all hours of the night,” she recalls. “There weren’t online classes or YouTube at the time, so I was self-taught. I really got into altering my own clothes because it was a quick, satisfying project.”

Upon leaving college in 2014, Turbo decided to pursue tailoring more seriously. She initially sewed for just friends and family before realizing the high demand, at which point she enrolled in cheap online courses. Turbo worked at a boutique, dry cleaner, for two master tailors and apprenticed at zTailors and Nordstrom before finally opening her own business. “The whole process took about five years,” she notes.

Turbo began by tailoring and sewing from home before moving to an industrial office area. Her CINCH Tailoring storefront on Center Street in Riverwest opened in June 2019. “I eventually had way too many machines and orders to fit in a tiny office space,” Turbo continues.

Knitting Club

After COVID hit, CINCH Tailoring hosted a socially distanced knitting club during quarantine. Turbo ultimately moved away from the storefront in 2022 in favor of a more private workspace, renaming the business with her own name.

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Sarah Turbo repairs and alters just about any garment and has her books open this winter. In spring and summer, she primarily works with bridal and formal wear since that's the peak wedding season. Seeing the comfort and excitement in her clients’ faces when an outfit she made fits them perfectly is what brings Turbo the most joy in her work. “I love knowing that they will feel confident on their wedding day and that I helped with that,” she remarks.

She has paused taking custom orders at this time in order to work on more of her own creative ideas, sharing, “I haven’t created something for myself in ages and I’m taking the time being for myself to fall back in love with sewing.”

In terms of style, Turbo is inspired by a broad range of vintage aesthetics. 1920s and ‘30s hair and makeup, collars from the ‘40s and ‘50s, color palettes from the ‘70s and ‘80s, and necklines and skirt/pant silhouettes from the ‘90s are all fashion trends she is currently inspired by. “The beauty of being alive today is fabric technology, so we are able to make breathable, comfortable versions of older styles in any color or print,” Turbo explains. “New age outfits are like collages to me.”

She also has custom-made rain hats for sale and plans to debut some new merchandise in the coming months.

Turbo’s latest addition is a Ricoma Embroidery Machine; starting in 2024, she is offering custom embroidery for logos, monograms, names and other designs. She is excited, saying, “This will open a new avenue of creativity for me, and it’s the most requested service that I wasn’t able to offer up until now.”

2024 means plenty more design work and exceptional bridal alterations from Turbo as well.

On the biggest things she has learned in her journey as a tailor and seamstress, Sarah Turbo reflects, “I’ve learned to trust my instincts—price things properly and not sell myself short, ask for help when I’m so used to DIY’ing everything, and take time for myself and get more rest. When I started the business, I worked 16 hours a day. For things to succeed long term, they cannot stay that way. I’ve learned to set boundaries and that people do respect them.”

Additionally, Turbo sings lead vocals in hardcore punk band Sex Scenes. Their new EP Fed Up dropped last month and they just concluded a Midwest tour in support of it. Listen to Fed Up at sexscenes.bandcamp.com/album/fed-up-ep, and expect more music from Sex Scenes in 2024.

To make an appointment with Sarah Turbo, message her on Instagram @sarahturbotailor or email her at sarah@cinchtailoring.com.