# Bras that Close in Front **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 18, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828 "2010-03-18T00:56:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828/21 "2010-03-18T10:37:16Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > her bras not particularly suitable for someone as stacked as she is. Also, it’s not a bra. 😃 The plastic clasp thing is an issue. I avoid plastic anything on bras, since I’ve had a couple of unfortunate incidents of snappage, despite wearing properly fitted bras and not being so spectacularly endowed as to overburden them. > [@Springtime for Spacers](#): > > I thought they were designed for breast feeding Nah, nursing bras generally have a flap on each cup that opens for nursing, you don’t unclasp. Also, definitely not the flimsy little Victorias Secret number most people associate with front clasps. More like cantilevered marvels of engineering. ---
**Author:** ![dragoncat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6a8cbe/32.png) [@dragoncat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragoncat)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828/22 "2010-03-18T10:38:20Z")
I second the OP’s question! As a person with B cups I have a really hard time finding front-closing bras that fit. Well, any bras that fit, for that matter. But the front-closing kind tend to A) add no support or shape or anything and 2) be underwires, which are really uncomfortable. And I never found back-closing bras hard to put on (except if they come undone and you try to put them back on with your arms still in them, which is basically impossible). ---
**Author:** ![figure9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@figure9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/figure9)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828/23 "2010-03-18T10:55:16Z")
Front closing bras look goofy when they have been taken off. At least they do to me. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828/24 "2010-03-18T12:10:11Z")
I liked them when I was in high school, but they are not available in my grown up cup size. I thought they did a really good job of giving me shape, as well as being easy to get on. But, I did have the “unhook” problem once or twice or three times. And I had the broken clasp issue - they just didn’t hold up like metal eyes do over a longer period. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828/25 "2010-03-18T12:18:29Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Front closing bras are less adjustable, so they have to pretty much fit perfectly. I’ve never seen a front closing bra with more than one line of hooks. In back closing bras, there are usually at least three rows (of one to four hooks per row), so that the woman can make the bra looser or tighter, as she feels necessary. And I’ve had front closing bras unhook themselves, in public. ---
**Author:** ![nicole1912](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9de0a6/32.png) [@nicole1912](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nicole1912)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828/26 "2010-03-18T12:37:08Z")
Are front closing bras purely an American thing? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one. Maybe I’ve just not paid enough attention to bra shopping - I’m going swimsuit shopping later (_shudder_) so I’ll have a look… ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828/27 "2010-03-18T12:56:32Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > her bras not particularly suitable for someone as stacked as she is. I wear exclusively [front closing bras](http://www.jms.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce/ProductDisplay?prnbr=21183&cgnbr=30I1000000), 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. Boobs come in all sorts of weird shapes and sizes. If yours fit off-the-rack bras well, better to consider yourself fortunate than to assume other people must be idiots. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828/28 "2010-03-18T13:14:02Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Front closing bras are less adjustable, so they have to pretty much fit perfectly. I’ve seen some that have like an adjustment flap in the back. I was told you adjust them just right, and then it’s pretty easy to take them off and on without disturbing it. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828/29 "2010-03-18T13:28:48Z")
FWIW, as a guy, I never have a problem getting her bra off. I either tear it or naw it off. I’m intense like that. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828/30 "2010-03-18T13:47:35Z")
> [@nicole1912](#): > > Are front closing bras purely an American thing? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one. Maybe I’ve just not paid enough attention to bra shopping - I’m going swimsuit shopping later (_shudder_) so I’ll have a look… Not exclusively. I had a couple many, many years ago. I haven’t looked for them more recently. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828/31 "2010-03-18T14:00:55Z")
Like **Aruqvan,** I have some Glamorise front-closing bras. They are comfortable and industrial-strength, if ugly. Mine have two columns of seven hooks, so they’re certainly adjustable. These are not sexy bras, but they help with neck and shoulder pain, are supportive, and are easy to get in and out of. No gnawing required. In a perfect world, I’d have classic little French-style breasts and no need for bras. In an almost-perfect world, I’d settle for a warm-handed minion dedicated to carrying my big American ones around for me. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828/32 "2010-03-18T14:06:15Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I’ve seen some that have like an adjustment flap in the back. I was told you adjust them just right, and then it’s pretty easy to take them off and on without disturbing it. I have one of those - it has a clasp in the front, and the back is like a regular back-closing bra with several hooks to make it different sizes. It comes apart in the wash though, so I end up with two bra halves 😃 I like front-closing bras, but they don’t work with all shirts. Many times the straps, since they cross or meet in the middle in the back come up closer to your neck than regular bras, so they tend to peek out more, depending on what you’re wearing. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828/33 "2010-03-18T14:11:14Z")
> [@Chicken\_Fingers](#): > > … In an almost-perfect world, I’d settle for a warm-handed minion dedicated to carrying my big American ones around for me. Good Lord, hon, in this economy I doubt it’d be hard to find volunteers … ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828/34 "2010-03-18T14:15:31Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > FWIW, as a guy, I never have a problem getting her bra off. I either tear it or naw it off. I’m intense like that. That is so crude. Get some class, dude. Use scissors. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828/35 "2010-03-18T14:16:49Z")
As a guy, I love the front closers. I used to have a GF who wore them exclusively and I got to the point where I could reach out with thumb, forefinger and middle finger and \ it open, through her shirt, in about a half a second. These days my wife only has one with a front clasp, but I can’t remember the last time I unclasped one of her bras. I get home from work, we have dinner, then after we get the kids to bed she changes into jammies or a nightgown. By the time we get around to putting on the Barry White CD, she’s braless. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828/36 "2010-03-18T14:18:09Z")
> [@figure9](#): > > Front closing bras look goofy when they have been taken off. At least they do to me. Like a map of the world where the Pacific is in the middle? ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828/37 "2010-03-18T14:26:33Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Like a map of the world where the Pacific is in the middle? Mmmm… continents… ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828/38 "2010-03-18T14:31:36Z")
> [@Chicken\_Fingers](#): > > In a perfect world, I’d have classic little French-style breasts and no need for bras. In an almost-perfect world, I’d settle for a warm-handed minion dedicated to carrying my big American ones around for me. I agree. I don’t have “circus tits” at this point, but my breasts are definitely large enough that not wearing a bra is deemed “inappropriate” in most social circles. I don’t need the support of some of those bras that are shown, but I do like a little support. Front close bras are okay, but at my size, I have a difficult enough time finding bras that fit and look good on me without ordering online and hoping it’ll work out. Besides, I never had issues with the hooks in the back of bras and never really understood why so many people had problems getting in and out of their bras. Maybe I just have comparatively nimble hands. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828/39 "2010-03-18T14:37:49Z")
> [@Chicken\_Fingers](#): > > …In a perfect world, I’d have classic little French-style breasts and no need for bras. In an almost-perfect world, I’d settle for a warm-handed minion dedicated to carrying my big American ones around for me. [after Gimli son of Gloin says, “…and my axe!”] cmyk: _“…and my warm hands!”_ ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828/40 "2010-03-18T14:41:27Z")
Front closing? I prefer to think of them as “front-_opening_.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bras-that-close-in-front/532828.md?page=3)