arts&life

fashion

Style
Tribe

Need a new outfi t for the holidays — or every day?
A local mom has created a brand of chic modest
and nursing-friendly pieces.

JUDITH SOLOMON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

T

sippi Gross thought that a
paucity of stylish yet accom-
modating clothing existed for
women wanting “modesty” — both
nursing mothers and observant
women (including Jewish, Muslim,
Christian, Mormon and Seventh Day
Adventists).
So Gross, the wife of local rabbi
Noam Gross and mother of three
children ranging in age from 1 to 10
years old, decided she wanted to help
remedy the problem.
The result? Havah Tribe, a com-
pany the Oak Park resident recently
created, is currently selling 25 of her
designs that range in price from $30
to $150 through both Instagram
(@havahtribe) and also on her
website (havahtribe.com.) She also
has recently staged pop-up shops
in Toronto, Brooklyn, New Jersey,
Chicago and Israel.
Gross, 32, says she chose the name
Havah because “it’s also the Hebrew
word for Eve who was the first moth-
er — and we are a very mother-ori-

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September 6 • 2018

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAUL PRIMEAU

ented brand.” And she chose the word
“tribe” because “it takes a village to
raise a child and mothers should
belong to a community that supports
and empowers them.”
By using zippers in creative ways as
well as concealed snaps and hidden
panels, Gross has designed a number
of nursing-friendly clothes. Those
designs include her Sundrop dress,
a long-sleeved, comfortable jersey
A-line style (available in nine differ-
ent colors and two different floral
patterns) that “you would never know
is nursing-friendly to look at but an
extra-long zipper at the side unzips
and makes it easy to nurse.
“This style has taken on a life of its
own,” she says. “I’m even surprised at
how popular it is.” Another bestseller
is a pretty shirt, complete with a zip-
per hidden beneath its ruffles. “Both
of these designs are very practical
and when the mother is feeding,
nothing is exposed,” she says. “But the
main point of the brand is to support
any woman throughout her mother-