So, I want to talk about something I get asked almost every week.
It usually comes in as a DM, sometimes a little shyly, like the person sending it isn't sure they're entitled to ask. It goes something like: "Am I actually petite enough to wear Avo? I'm not that small..."
And every single time, it stops me in my tracks.
Because here's the thing. Petite isn't about how much space you take up. It's not a dress size. It's not a compliment reserved for women who are delicate or slim or a certain shape. Petite simply means you are 5'3" or under. That's the whole definition. Height only.
You can be petite and curvy. Petite and athletic. Petite and a size 6, or a size 16. Petite and a mum whose body has changed completely over the years. All of those women are petite. Every single one of them deserves activewear that actually fits.
So where did the confusion come from?
Honestly, I think it comes down to how the fashion industry used the word for so long. Petite sections, when they existed at all, were mostly filled with tiny, slim-cut versions of regular clothes, modelled by women who were already a standard sample size. So the message, even if it was never said out loud, was: petite means small in every sense of the word.
It doesn't.
When I was growing up, I assumed petite sections weren't really for me either, even though I'm 5'1". I didn't look like the women modelling those clothes. I didn't fit the image. So I bought regular activewear, pinned the hems, rolled the waistbands, and quietly accepted that nothing was ever quite going to fit right.
It took me years to realise that the problem wasn't me. It was the clothes.
What petite actually means, in practice
When you're 5'3" or under, standard sizing isn't proportioned for your body. It's built around a fit model who's typically around 5'7" to 5'9". So the rise is too long. The inseam pools at your ankles. The waistband sits in the wrong place. The distance from shoulder to underband on a sports bra is just slightly off.
None of this means your body is wrong. It means the clothes weren't made for you.
Petite sizing fixes this by adjusting proportions, not just chopping a few centimetres off the hem. Shorter inseams. Higher-placed waistbands. Adjusted rise lengths. Sleeves and straps that sit where they're supposed to on a shorter frame. It's the difference between clothes that technically fit and clothes that feel like they were made for you.
That's what I built Avo around. Not a look. Not a body type. Just the simple idea that if you're 5'3" or under, your activewear should be designed with your proportions in mind from the very start.
You don't have to earn being petite
If you're reading this and you've ever wondered whether Avo is really for you, I want to be really clear: if you're 5'3" or under, it is. Whatever size you are. Whatever shape you are. Whatever stage of life you're in.
You don't have to be a certain weight to shop here. You don't have to look a certain way. You just have to be the height you are.
From one short girl to another, that's always been the point 💛
Love,
Ally x
