still searching for the reason ties were first donned in the first place..

How about as a means of protecting clothes in an area they are most prone to get dirty? Sort of a portable napkin/bib thing? It would be a sign of status if you could afford a number of these miniature smocky things, especially if they were (paradoxically) made in fine cloth.

At the other end of the social scale, workers used to wear neckerchiefs, which served a similar function to handkerchiefs (probably a later invention) - general clean-up cloth, mopping the brow, preventing sweat trickling down your neck, etc.

I'm scrabbling a bit, but bet bat's () in the right area.