ami i read somewhere that a child can inherit a phobia if the mother had it when pregnant. Thats how babies learn to be afraid of snakes and spiders even though they have no reason to be. that's what i read anyway.
Actually, Neck ties devolved from elaborate neck scarves worn my men in the French Revolutionary period. They were a way to cover up the neck, a body part that had been severed frequently. Clothes became much simpler in order to distance people from aristocracy, and the scarves simplified themselves over time as well.
It was this movement that started the modern suit, as well, since wealth was shown now by tailoring, and not ornate-ness of the clothing.