Tamara Rappa is Story + Rain's Founder, Editor in Chief, Fashion + Editorial Director,
and Host of the Story + Rain Talks podcast.
Tamara is a native New Yorker who grew up in Queens and Manhattan, where she attended public school and the United Nations International School, respectively. She received a BA in English from Villanova University with minors in French and Russian, and attended Parsons School Of Design for Fashion Marketing.
Story + Rain is the culmination of Tamara's over 20 years of experience in the fashion industry. She got her start in 1996 at Interview Magazine, the iconic, Andy Warhol-founded publication. She honed her skills working on sets with photographers Herb Ritts, Ellen Von Unwerth and Steven Klein, to name a few. From there, she shifted aesthetic gears to join Cosmopolitan where she served as Senior Accessories Editor and then Fashion Editor, and was one of the very first editors to bring a high fashion perspective to the Hearst publication’s massive, devoted audience where she also helped to modernize the publication’s iconic covers. In 2005, she helped build the fashion department for the newly launched American edition of Ok! Magazine. Then followed O, The Oprah Magazine where she was Senior Accessories Editor until 2012. At O, Rappa sourced and curated many of the coveted items found in the magazine’s popular "O List" section, a collection of Oprah-approved accessories and gifts. Tamara was also responsible for selecting Ms. Winfrey’s jewelry and accessories for the magazine's cover shoots, and also for her special appearances, including those on television, and for Ms. Winfrey's own personal collection. It was at the end of her time at O Magazine that Tamara's vision for Story + Rain began to take shape.
Tamara has appeared on camera and as an expert for E!, and MTV, and has been quoted in several publications including US Weekly, Forbes, and more.
With varied other roles in the fashion industry—including her work as a celebrity stylist with clients such as Vanessa Carlton, Paris Hilton, Meg Ryan, and Scarlett Johansson, and as a wardrobe stylist across television, notably for Bravo TV, and in music and advertising— Story + Rain was launched at the end of 2016 as the answer to her growing desire to bridge her diverse experience and interests into a singular platform that celebrates and shares them all. Furthermore, she saw the opportunity to bridge the gap between reading a magazine and shopping its pages. Through Story + Rain, readers can seamlessly interact with both content and commerce.
Story + Rain is a reflection of her own areas of expertise and curiosity: fashion, beauty, pop culture, home decor, travel, food, and the fascinating creatives that are changing the world. Rappa’s eclectic sense of style can be seen throughout the publication, and it drives the site’s ethos. Be it high end or high street, the most prominent personalities, or the exciting emerging stars of the future---for Tamara and for Story + Rain, there's magic in the mix.
follow our founder @tamararappa