I have been trying to make bow ties happen within my immediate family recently, without much success.

Despite the fact male celebrities are regularly photographed on the red carpet wearing bow ties and the shelves of stores such as Topman are laden with various options, my male relatives refuse point blank to wear them.

Apparently what I admire on George Clooney and Ryan Gosling doesn't translate to the average Scottish male. This point was hammered home when I tried to dress my six-year-old nephew in a cute chambray bow tie from J Crew and he looked me in the eye, shook his head and said: "No bow ties." Such a decisive opinion for one so young.

So while I might have lost my family to the bow tie cause, I am hopeful that there will be some of you reading this who agree with me that bow ties are where it's at.

The major plus point of wearing a bow tie is that nobody will suspect you're on route to work, but instead will presume you're off to some glamorous event and look on jealously. Either that or think you are a crazed hipster, but that normally only happens when said bow tie is worn by a gent with facial fuzz in the form of a moustache or a well-cultivated beard.

Bow ties are far away fashion-wise from the world of work and so are infinitely more glamorous than their normal workaday tie cousin.

Bow ties also work well with coloured or printed shirts, more so than regular ties. They are a throwback to a more sophisticated time when men dressed up on a daily basis, so wearing one will give you a vintage allure.

Bow ties come in a multitude of colours, prints, and most importantly textures.

Chambray, wool, velvet: bow ties rendered in these tactile fabrics are so much cooler than the regular silk tie. So if it was up to me, I would dress you up in the fanciest bow tie I could find.

However, for those who simply can't bring themselves to wear a bow tie, there are other options that help elevate a suit from workwear to occasionwear.

The addition of a waistcoat always helps. The trend for three-piece suits is a positive development, with brands such as Reiss and Jaeger offering the best selection on the high street.

As well as helping to make you look sharp, waistcoats have added value as they help to mask the often troublesome stomach area. Accessories such as tie pins and pocket squares help to add a little bit of interest to the plainest suit.

It is my belief that the best trick to dress up a high-street suit is to accessorise well. Buy good-quality classic shoes, wear an interesting (preferably bow) tie, and add a contrasting waistcoat and a printed pocket square. Then stand back and watch with glee as people try to guess which designer store you bought your suit from.

Sorted.