Encino Mom Dives Into Swimsuit Business

• Editor's Note: Yesterday, Encino Patch featured line of fashionable sun-protection clothing for both boys and girls. Today we're profiling Trunkettes, swimwear for moms. 

Ever notice how kids and dads have all the fun in the pool at swim parties, while the moms sit on the sidelines?

Hilary Genga not only noticed, she also decided to do something about it. Aware that women didn’t get in the water because they didn’t want to get into a swimsuit, the Encino mom created Trunkettes, a bathing suit line that offers women cute, sexy suits with a little more coverage.

“Basically, there have been two types of suits,” says Genga, “cute, skimpy ones and frumpy, old-lady styles.”

Frustrated, the Encino mother of Jacob, 10, and Emory, 8, started wearing her husband’s swim trunks with a bikini top.  

“I just felt more comfortable in them,” she explains.  “I could run, jump and swim without having to worry about a wardrobe malfunction or having to run out and get a bikini wax.”

Her makeshift ensemble won compliments from both friends and strangers. While on vacation in Houston, a fellow hotel guest asked where she bought her suit. That’s when inspiration struck.  

“I kept waiting for someone else to design a suit moms would want to wear," Genga says. "Every summer I’d look in the stores, but never found them.”

So in 2008, Genga dived into the swimwear business herself and launched Trunkettes.

A former theatrical producer, Genega tapped Kristin Evenson, a costume designer whom she’d worked with, as her designer. The bikini/trunks combo that first inspired Genga is Trunkettes' signature suit.  However, Evenson has created several other tops and bottoms that can be mixed and matched to create the most flattering look for all figures. She also designs all the fabric prints.

In addition to more coverage, Trunkettes offer functionality that Genga felt was lacking in existing swimsuits. Tops feature built-in bras with adjustable straps. Shorts have built-in briefs. 

Trunkettes are sold in 70 retail outlets across the country. Though none of those locations are currently in San Fernando Valley, Trunkettes can be purchased on the company’s website, trunkettes.com.  They are priced between $40.50 and $54.99.

“I never expected to be smack in the middle of the swimsuit business,” says Genga.

Nor did she expect it to be so personally rewarding.  

“I get lots of e-mails,” she says. “One woman thanked me, saying it had been years since she’d been in the water. Another said I changed the way she looked at summer and was responsible for her buying a beach house.”