Ladies,
What is the chief benefit of a front-closing bra? Is it that they’re easier to put on, and does that depend on cup size?
Ease of putting on. If you have a bra that fits properly, the clasp in back falls right at that magic spot just below and between your shoulder blades that a lot of people have trouble reaching. I’ve even seen some people put their back-closing bra on backwards, so that they can close it while looking at the clasp, and then spin it around and run their arms through the shoulder straps, just to take advantage of closing the thing in the front.
The real question is why there aren’t more front-closing bras. I can only guess that there are engineering hurdles.
Maybe because something like this could happen? (Warning: Possibly NSFW)
I vote for more front-closing bras.
If there was ever an incentive for lazy engineers. 
Lazy, or smart? 
That has my vote, I can just watch that all day… Oh wait, I already do… or try to
Front closing bras are less adjustable, so they have to pretty much fit perfectly.
Easier to put on, easier to take off. Especially if the other party isn’t well skilled in unhooking a bra from the back, the front bra is much easier and quickly leads to some good times. Gooood times. 
So true. I do the turny thing on the back closing bra. I only have one front closing bra, but if they were more common I’d definitely get more.
That’s a good point I hadn’t considered. I guess you could build a sliding adjust in there, like the strap for a shoulder bag. But then the metal would dig into your back.
A lot of front closing bras are racer-backs - the straps form a V or an X in the back instead of the usual vertical arrangement. Some women find this more comfortable since the straps run between your shoulder blades instead of across them. Also, depending on the cut of the shirt’s collar and armholes, racer-back bras do a better job of concealing the straps.
I’ve had the exact opposite experience. Men cannot figure out a front-close bra. They have to stop and think, which they usually aren’t too good at in the moment.
I had a friend in grad school who claimed that he didn’t like front-close bras because “it’s too obvious that you are unhooking her bra”. Apparently he thought that women don’t realize when a man is unhooking her back-close bra. :rolleyes: I tried to disspell him of that notion, but he wouldn’t hear it.
I like them for a couple of reasons: 1) they are easier to put on, and 2) the straps are more comfortable because they cross closer in on your shoulder.
I generally like them, but the only time I’ve had a bra undo itself during the day was when I wore a front-closing bra in high school. Awkward!
I thought they were designed for breast feeding.
Easier to put on, and easier for hubby to take off.
Whoo hoo!
My sports bra is front closing, but considering it has about 10-12 hooks, I don’t think it is any easier to put on or take off than the regular back closing bras I have.
And even if you still fumble around with the clasp, at least the fumbling around’s more fun.
KarlGrenze is a female? Or a transvestite!
her bras not particularly suitable for someone as stacked as she is. I wear exclusively front closing bras, without underwires in a cup size appropriate for my actual breast size. I can sneeze, hang upside down, or jump around without a problem. I don’t have that annoying wire that seems to do nothing except poke into the body and I am supported just fine. I don’t understand why women find it so blasted difficult to get a proper fitting bra, and torture themselves with underwires. measuring isn’t rocket science - all it takes is a tape measure and a few minutes in a fitting room.
I prefer front closure bras, but have found that an inordinate amount of (not cheap!) bras with front closures have them made of plastic that only just works.
I have had the unfortunate experience of having them bust open while wearing them. I am modestly endowed and do buy properly fitting bras, but after a wash or two it seems the plastic either weakens (and breaks) or gets just worn enough to pop itself out of place. I am not popping them open for them being overly tight, but rather the hook mechanism slips out of place or won’t securely “snap” into place at all.
Still in all I think I have had more front hooks break with putting them on (or taking them off) than the ones that won’t stay closed, so I am thinking it is a plastic vs. metal hooks issue more than anything.