What's Jen Magazine?

Jen Magazine is a fashion and lifestyle blog for young women who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS or "Mormons"), and anyone else who is interested in modest fashion and positive media. It was conceived as an alternative to the worldly and sometimes sleazy magazines that are popular among young women.

Who is Jen?

My name is Jennifer Loch and I started Jen Magazine. If it hasn't been updated in a while it's because I've been busy (and I do stay pretty busy). I run a business, have a lot of hobbies, and I'm married with 3 young kids. I started Jen Magazine in 2004. Since then I've also started a modest clothing company, Jen Clothing. People ask me what my interests are: I like everything! I like fashion, dancing, music production, cooking, writing, hiking, thinking, playing the piano, camping, playing games, design, art, songwriting, reading, learning, exercising, singing, acting, being healthy, and of course The Gospel of Jesus Christ. There could be more stuff in this magazine but I don't like to sit at the computer all day… I like to get out and do things! So you'll have to be patient. Read my blog to see what I've been up to lately. 

PHOTO DETAILS: Shirt and Shorts: The People Have Spoken. Shoes: L.E.I. Photographer: Jill Frost. Girl: Jen. A special thanks to Jill Frost for donating these pictures!     ; )

From Immodest to Modest – My Story and the Story Behind Jen Magazine:

I've always loved fashion. Growing up I didn't always dress modestly. I didn't really understand the importance of it. Showing more skin never helped me in any way. Actually, it really hurt me. I would usually get asked out by "loser" or "player" guys, not the type of guy I was looking for. (I later realized that the kind of guy I was looking for would want to date someone who looked good while still keeping it modest.) Showing more skin also hurt me spiritually, because I would drive the Holy Spirit away a little more each time I chose to disobey this seemingly small commandment. In fact, I can trace back all of my problems and mistakes to driving away The Spirit by breaking "small" commandments such as modesty and indulging in unrighteous music and media.

So I made some wrong choices, but then I wised up. I worked hard to get myself on the right track. Once I did, I met my perfect awesome guy who married me in the LDS Temple.

I had been doing some modeling here and there since I was a young teen.

After I got married and became more serious about my modesty and clothing standards, my modeling agent called to ask if I'd be interested in being in a fashion show the next weekend. The fashion show was for the designer Betsey Johnson, and I was excited because I was a big fan of her designs. I said sure, and she scheduled me for a fitting.

If you're not familiar with the term, a fitting is where you meet with the show coordinators to pick out what you are going to wear and make sure it fits. As I drove to the fitting I started to get nervous because I wear LDS undergarments now and I wondered what I would say if they wanted me to wear something that didn't cover my garments and comply with my modesty standards. I was hoping I wouldn't have to face that but in the back of my mind I knew I would.

When I got to the fitting I didn't see anything in view that I could wear without breaking my standards. The coordinators greeted me and quickly escorted me to a dressing room while they analyzed my body shape and asked what size I wore. They began picking clothes for me. I timidly said "I'd prefer to wear whatever you have that shows the least skin." They seemed confused but they complied and brought me the most modest clothes they had, all the while reassuring me that I was beautiful and shouldn't be ashamed of showing my body. I looked at these offerings of the least revealing clothing they had and knew I would have to take off my undergarments to wear them. I quickly removed my garments and put on the clothing showing each outfit to the coordinators. Three outfits were decided on and then we were finished and I left feeling awful.

As I drove home I thought about it. The purpose of this fashion show was to persuade people that these clothes looked good and that they were cool. I thought about my struggles with modesty. Growing up I always felt like I had to choose between being modest and looking good. I often abandoned modesty for immodest fashions because I let what I saw in magazines and in other media determine my own idea of what looked good. Why would I want to participate in saying to the world "this is what looks good, you should wear this" when I actually believe the opposite? I would be participating in the massive lie that deceives so many people just as it had deceived me.

That night I called the fashion show coordinators and told them I wouldn't be in the show. The girl I talked to asked why, and I told her it was for religious reasons. She was really respectful towards me and said that she hoped they hadn't offended me or made me uncomfortable. When my husband overheard me on the phone saying I wouldn't do the show I heard him say a huge "YYESS!" like guys do when their team makes a touchdown. After I got off the phone he told me "I knew you would do the right thing." I felt a huge wave of peace come over me and I was happy about my decision.

Because I had chosen the right thing the spirit was with me and I was inspired to start Jen Magazine to promote modest fashion. I started working on Jen Magazine right away.

Jen Magazine has now led me to other endeavors, like my clothing company Jen Clothing. It all started by saying no to immodest fashion! -Jen