Teen wears short-sleeved suit to prom and divides the internet

‘You can buy designer, one thing you can’t buy is swag’

Twitter (@DonyellMeredith)

With prom season in full swing, teens across the US are donning their glad rags for the seminal high school moment, prompting one student to get a little creative with his outfit.

Donyell Meredith II subverted sartorial norms by wearing a short-sleeved and cropped suit to his prom, a look that has polarised the internet after the Indianapolis-based teenager posted a series of snaps of his outfit on Twitter.

In the original tweet, which has now garnered more than 20,000 likes, the 18-year-old uploaded four photos featuring himself, his prom date and his family, writing: “You can buy designer, one thing you can’t buy is swag #Prom2k18”.

Posing alongside his friends, all of whom were clad in traditional long-sleeved tuxedos, Meredith’s look certainly stood out from the crowd.

The suit was originally purchased from K&G Fashion, however, Meredith explained that he had it tailored so that the sleeves were made shorter and the trousers were cropped.

“I always like to dress different and not necessarily wear the in things or expensive designer clothing. I really enjoy putting together outfits,” he told Yahoo.

Many praised the innovative teen for his out-of-the-box aesthetic:

“Come on short sleeved suit!!” wrote one person on Twitter.

“Not going to front when I saw the subtweet about a short sleeve suit I got ready to see how horrible it was going to look, but you honestly pull it off,” added another.

However, not everybody was quite so complimentary:

“Sorry... fashion fail,” wrote one person. “Looks like he got a kid's jacket and pants too short”.

Meanwhile, others labelled the look “tacky” and “weird”.

Fortunately for Meredith, the majority of comments were positive, with most people congratulating the teen for doing something a little bit different:

“Maybe it’s not something I would wear but I like that he’s standing out,” wrote one person, “trying something new, and being different. You don’t have to dress like everybody else.”

While it might not be a look one sees on the everyday suit-wearing gentleman, short-sleeved suits are no stranger to the fashionistas of menswear.

In 2015, plush Swedish brand Acne released a series of short-sleeved suits as part of its spring summer menswear collection, prompting GQ to label the transgressive style as "happening".

Will Meredith's tweet prompt a renaissance for this unique and summer-friendly style?

Stay tuned.