To put it mildly, Atlantic Canada has never been known as a hotbed of men’s fashion. But that’s not stopping Thomas Rankin and Tomek Niewiarowski from developing a tech company that will help men to effortlessly improve their wardrobe.

The two Halifax entrepreneurs will soon launch private trials of Dash Hudson, an online marketplace in which men can not only buy clothes but also consult with stylists on the best possible look.

Sitting in a coffee shop on Friday, they burst out laughing when it was mentioned that they’ve based their business in a sartorial no man’s land.

“I grew up on a dirt road in P.E.I. and Tomek is from eastern Poland, and style was nary to be found,” said Rankin. “But I think it’s great that we’re growing a fashion e-commerce site in Atlantic Canada because it shows you can establish a business anywhere.”

Rankin is best known as an investment director at Innovacorp, but he will leave that position by the end of the year to focus full time on the new company, whose corporate name is Pathmata. He said in the interview he learned a lot during his 2 1/2 years in venture capital, and he is interested in applying it to his own business.

Almost a year ago, he met Niewiarowski, who was completing his master’s degree in computer science at Dalhousie University, and they began to collaborate on a business idea.

The initial plan was to work on a data analytics project that would assess a customer profile, a retail product and a store’s location to provide useful information for retailers. Rankin said that project is still in the works but the main focus now is http://www.dashhudson.com, a site that will help men find the right clothes.

Dash Hudson allows men to sign in, give details of their lifestyle and then choose style consultants. The company has a panel of stylists that the customers — mainly men aged 18 to 30 — can ask for advice. The costumer could consult one of the in-house stylists, or ask someone he knows, such as his wife or girlfriend, for online advice.

The customer can choose from a range of clothes and ask the stylist how it would look and what would look good with it. At the push of a button, the customer can then order and pay for the clothing.

Rankin said social commerce, as this type of buying is known, is undergoing huge growth but mainly in women’s fashion. Retailers and brand producers love it because it indicates current buying tastes. But there is no social commerce site for men.

He and Niewiarowski have been building the site in earnest since September, having secured some angel funding (they declined to say how much) from investors outside the region. They will launch a private beta test for Android-based products in December, and one for Apple devices in the new year. Both tests will target U.S. consumers.

The full launch will depend on the feedback from the trials, but will probably take place in the second or third quarters of 2014.

Rankin said the company is working with some established brands and e-commerce companies, so customers should feel comfortable buying online, knowing they can return the clothes if there is a problem with fit. Even though many people like to try on clothes before a purchase, online buying of clothes now accounts for about eight per cent of clothing sales in the U.S. and is rising quickly.

“It’s been proven through the growth of the industry that people are willing to have clothes come to their door without a prior fit,” said Rankin.