neckties

I was wondering the other day about the longevity of this current style of men's neckwear. It seems the necktie as we know it has survived in its current fashion for over a hundred years now. But if you look at historical pictures prior to the late 1800s, you'll see the rapidity in the change in fashion of men's neckwear, somtimes every decade, and at least from generation to generation. So why did the necktie fasten itself like a cloth iron around our necks?