Mother (95) prefers to dress herself, but is having trouble with getting her bra on and off. Any suggestions for an easy, front-closing bra?

This is interesting. I had a heck of a time finding a Front Closure bra. I have arthritis in my hands (like everyone else) and on some days back closure was almost impossible.
I found that Layne Bryant has a nice front closure bra (lots of hooks though 7 on mine) but they are comfortable.
On line I did check out the one mentioned by leaonnie1 and I will have to try it on next time I go to Walmart. (less hooks)
there is no way I would ever be able to use one that pulled over my head and I have never been able to Hook it in front of you and pull it to the back and slip in your arms.
I recently had hand surgery and even the front closure is difficult now so I have been going "au naturale" and it reminds me of a joke I read...
A married man thinks he will give his wife a birthday surprise by buying her a bra. He enters a lingerie shop and rather intimidated the saleswoman takes charge.
What color she asks. He settles on white.
All that remained was the size and he did not have the faintest idea.
Now sir asks the sales woman are they the size of melons?, coconuts? grape fruit?
Oh no nothing like that he says
Come on sir there must be something that your wife's bust reminds you of.
He thinks long and hard then looks up and says...Have you ever seen a Cocker Spaniels ears?
sorry ...just had to include that!

When I had hand surgery, my occupational therapist (hand PT) recommended hooking it in front then turning it to the back.

DH aunt stopped wearing a bra in her 50s. Opted instead for cotton men’s undershirts under her front buttoned blouses. She is large breasted. The undershirts work great for her. This would never work for me because I get a back ache if I don’t wear a bra. I prefer to wear pjs with no bra until I get dressed to go out. Can’t do it or I wind up with a backache.
My mom wore a bra everyday of her life. I tried the undershirts with her but didn’t work. In her advanced age the bras were very difficult to fit.

My mother had the same issue due to shoulder pain, but needed support ( and would never go braless.) I got low impact sport bras for her with front close. Get larger size so she doesn't have to stretch a lot to close. Suggest ones with wider straps for comfort. They are available with or without underwire support. Now they come in a wide variety of colors to blend with her blouses. Matching color panty briefs will present them feel more like lingerie sets, and maintain her femininity, even at 95 !

At 95, she deserves the comfort of No Bra. It would be so much more relaxing and comfortable. Tell her to try it, it will feel awesome. Not wearing a bra is like not wearing a bathing suit in the tub

There is a bra company called Decent Exposures. I've used them since before the internet. Their bras can now be ordered online. Among their selection, they offer front-closing bras. Their customer service is excellent.

I found some of the sports bras worked better. Also I found Velcro ones that closed in the front

Not necessary to wear a bra at that age. My 98 year old mother has not worn a bra for approximately ten years. She is more comfortable and you can't tell she does not have one on. I hate wearing a bra and will give it up when I am older. I don't wear one around the house way too uncomfortable.

I gave up bras when I turned 80... so much more comfortable! I have a C cup so in hot weather I need a simple very loose-fitting (preferably cotton) sports bra or else I feel sweaty where skin lies on skin. You don't want anything "growing" in that moist area. (I've never had such a problem, but i know it can happen.)
Or maybe she'd like a bathing suit or sports top... secret color under her clothes and not feeling so naked when she gets undressed!

She might more readily accept a suggestion from someone in her age group. Do you have any such resources; does she have a good friend?

There's something called the INVISIBLE LIFT-UP ADHESIVE BRA:

https://coolgearhq.com/products/new-2020-invisible-lift-up-bra?variant=31653335072840

There might be other variants on this.

Also, I wear a "tube top."

https://www2.hm.com/en_us/search-results.html?q=tube+top

What if you were to remove the hooks and sew Velcro on?

Look at the Silverts.com website. Everything they sell is for elderly and disabled people and is all about accessibility.

Here is the issue with the ‘pull over the head’ type bra for my mom. She has Parkinson’s disease and a rotator cuff injury with her shoulder, plus arthritis so mobility is a huge problem.

She could have never lifted her arms up high enough to put that type on. She can barely get a loose pullover shirt on.

Her range of motion is extremely limited. She did several rounds of home health and rehab with tons of physical and occupational therapy which did help some but not a whole lot as far as increasing her range of motion. It did build up a little strength and flexibility.

It’s awkward because mom has horrible balance due to her Parkinson’s disease so she is a high fall risk. She fell at the slightest feeling of being off balance.

It’s hard when there are mobility issues.

My mother will be 94 soon; for the past 2 years, she's had SO MUCH trouble with bras, I can't even tell you. Every couple of months, she calls to tell me she 'needs more bras' because the 'hooks are twisted'. It's nothing SHE'S doing wrong, of course.........it's the washing machine's fault or the care giver's fault or whatever. Truth is, she doesn't ask for help at the Memory Care ALF a lot of the time and winds up damaging the hooks herself. I've told her 100x to please go w/o a bra and I've bought her extra large tops to camoflauge her breasts, but no.........she needs new bras new bras and NEW BRAS. I've ordered 20 bras the last year alone., which are all 'no good.' One time, I even went to Kohl's and bought 15 different bras in different styles and sizes, brought them all over to the ALF, helped her try each one on to determine which one(s) she liked, went back to Kohl's to return the ones she disliked and to buy a couple more of the ones she did like, but then she decided she DIDN'T like them after all! Happy happy joy joy. And the bra debacle continues to this very day.

Here's the ones I buy her and the only ones she gets nowadays: take them or leave them, I don't care:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NWT-Bali-Womens-White-Size-XXL-Comfort-Revolution-Full-Coverage-Bra-White-Dot/274518045369?hash=item3fea8cf2b9:g:m-EAAOSw~Zlfd0~3



And here's the front closure version:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bali-Comfort-Revolution-Front-Close-T-Shirt-Bra-Womens/371645477388?_trkparms=aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D225086%26meid%3Dc409f70818fe4adeaf2e0d8a37f1542f%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dpf%26sd%3D274518045369%26itm%3D371645477388%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSimplAMLv5PairwiseWebWithDarwoV3BBEV2b%26brand%3DBali&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

Wishing you the best of luck, or, better luck than I've had with the bra debacle.

Bali makes front closure bras in a 40F is that large enough for your Mum?

My mom had same issues but seems happy with her pull over "leisure bra". It is a Hanes from Walmart. Soft stretchy cotton.

There are actually some pretty decent pull over the head, no fastener bras that provide reasonable support.
Try a google search. One particularly nice style I saw recently had a “wrap” arrangement.
I’ll post brand names......LOTS of selections on Amazon, looking for more........

My mom got frustrated because of sagging breasts. She hated having to pull up her breasts to place in the cups!

Her boobs went down to practically nothing because she doesn’t eat much and weighs so little but they still sag.

Bras are a pain! She would place hers at her waist backwards, hook it, turn it around and then scoot it up.

Bra wearers seem to fall into two categories:

1. People who put them on over their shoulders and over their bust first, then do the clip up at the back.

2. People who do them up around their waists, twizzle them round through 180 degrees, then put their arms through the shoulder straps and pull the straps up one at a time.

Which has been your mother's preferred style? If 1., could she be persuaded to try 2.?

I would strongly encourage you to encourage/support/assist continued bra wearing, especially in a fuller-figured lady, because keeping the fold of skin under the bust scrupulously clean and dry is very difficult and the resulting problems are made much worse if the skin surfaces are continuously pressed together. In ladies who really can't wear a bra even though they'd like to, for example because of shoulder injuries or recent pacemaker insertions, I search through their underwear (with permission, of course) for pure cotton vests or t-shirts and ensure that the natural fabric is tucked smoothly under the bust line just to keep the skin from getting stuck to itself.

There are two problems with front opening bras: 1. they are rarely underwired and so don't give the support your mother would be used to; 2. you need two strong hands to get them done up on a larger chest. There are both zip styles and hook-and-eye styles, but both present pinch hazards (yowch!), and both require a good deal of manipulation to get the cup comfortably around the breast. As I found yesterday after my client's otherwise terrific shower routine. She is in reasonable shape physically, but even so she wasn't able to get the leverage she needed to bring the two ends together. It took teamwork :)

My mom was not large busted but we got to a point where she stopped wearing a bra. We decided on tank tops or camisoles, sometimes even T-shirt’s, under a button type shirt or house dresses. At your mom’s age is she still active and going out? I would think not too much especially in these covid times. If she is staying home maybe a bra is not necessary? Just my perspective and experience. Good luck.