About Us

Avo is the UK's 1st sportswear brand to specialise in activewear for women 5'3" & under. We offer a premium range of leggings, sports bras, tops, shorts & maternity leggings at affordable prices.

We are proud to have been recognised as one of the best petite activewear brands by magazines such as Heat, Women's Health & Woman & Home and our founder Ally has been named a finalist for four 'Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards' in 2022/23.

Our Founder's Story - Ally Patterson

Being a 5'1" keen gymgoer I have tried a lot of activewear over the years and I've often struggled to find clothing that fits both my height and shape. I've tried to make do with cropped leggings, the 7/8th ones, paying for overpriced petite ranges and hemming my clothes on occasions because they were just too long. I've even put up with the baggy material around my ankles because I love the leggings too much!

In 2017 I decided enough was enough and I set about creating a brand that won't only solve my problem, but I know now a problem many other shorter women encounter. Given I could already sew I wondered if I could make my own clothing. This led me to buying a sewing pattern in the shape of leggings & some Lycra fabric from a local store, cutting the legs of pattern a bit shorter so they could class as 'petite' length, and carefully following the instructions to make my own pair of 'petite length leggings'. To my disappointment, they were more like disco pants than anything that resembled a pair of sports leggings(!), but I didn't let this deter me from achieving my goal. The first hurdle was finding a manufacturer and someone who could provide the tech packs they were requesting. After numerous designers, manufacturers and samples which eventually resulted in manually adjusting the measurements myself after each failed pair of leggings, I eventually found an experienced manufacturer with access to premium quality fabrics & workmanship who we still work with to date.

My aim is to fill this huge gap in the fitness clothing industry and empower the petite size instead of it being an annoyance; no more adjusting or making do with standard length products. I want Avo to be a brand where petite women can finally find the products they've been searching for. 

After all, can it get any better than petite clothing designed by a petite?!