Closet Confidential: Freya Nobbs of The John Street 5

By Sophia Penelope Hill

When John Street was taken over this year, I knew most of the girls who were moving into the house. And if I didn’t know one of the girls personally, I still would have been able to say something like: “Oh ya I have heard of her. I think she like gave me a ticket to a thing that my academic cousin’s best friend runs with someone who my ex-high-school crush knew from camp.” Ya know, one of those classic St. Andrews relationships. And given that we go to school in a glorified, tartan styled fishbowl, it was shocking to me that Freya Nobbs and I had never met. Never had a class. Never gotten a coffee. Never exchange a nod in the street. I will admit, I had never even really heard of her before this year which seemed impossible. I also thought she was a different Freya for a few days. But then that Freyja told me that it was, in fact, a different Freya who lived in John Street. (That other Freyja works at Taste, FYI, and she makes really good lattes and has really cool bangs.) So, I thought to myself… I guess everyone is just named Freya now? Well everyone isn’t, and I did eventually find the Freya who lived in John Street. And our first real conservation was this interview… HOW RAW… HOW REAL… and it was truly one of my favorite conversations for this column to date. And I’m not just saying that. Freya has lived many lives and seen many things in her 20-something years. And she broke down how these worldly experiences helped shape her style today.

Freya is particular. She has defined taste, and a way to weed out the things that she really doesn’t connect with. Trends are not at the forefront of her mind. In fact, the runway isn’t even something she keeps up with at all. Because of her specificity, Freya described how her style hasn’t really evolved much since her time as a young adult. Consistency has remained key. She focuses on the basics but is NOT basic. Taking inspiration from Rachel Green for a simple, homogenous style that comes together to form a completely comfortable and unique outfit. Her style is on a schedule, filled with well-loved and well-worn pieces that anyone could identify as “Classic Freya.” A variation of a Dr. Marten shoe is a must, must have for example.

Freya and I also talked more candidly about fashion experimentation here in St. Andrews, and how it’s hard to completely change your style because you will see literally every person you know on the street. And because of that, there are some limitations to how much you can actually radically change your fashion sense. But Freya’s sameness, in some ways, is an act of style rebellion. She doesn’t feel the pressure to change her to style to fit anyone, or anything else. What you see, is what you get.

Freya also has the most glorious treasure trove of stories. It began when I complimented this very gorgeous, bohemian rug she had delicately placed on the floor. She captivated me with a tail about her time in an Israeli Kibbutz, where she helped farm organic, natural foods. Here, she had the most cinematic romantic fling I had ever heard, where a man from the Kibbutz drove her to Egypt, and that’s where she happened to find the rug. At this point, my jaw was on the floor, as I didn’t know an experience like that was even possible. But some people truly do just walk in the light. And Freya, in more ways than one, is definitely one of those people. I left this interview thinking: “Ya, she might low-key be the coolest person at St. Andrews.” And I am positive that that observation is right.