Asking for advice on the bus

So I'm thinking about getting a new coat.  A new winter coat.  The one I have now is great and warm, but I really don't like the pockets.  I know I shouldn't be so picky about my coat's pockets, but these ones honestly irk me.

The pockets have two flaps.  Under one flap is the actual pocket.  Under the other flap is....nothing.  It has no bottom.  So if you drop something into your pocket under the wrong flap, it just falls straight through to the ground.  WTF?  Anyway, I'm getting a bit fed up with having to spend extra time fishing to find the right flap in my coat every time I put my keys away.  Grrrrr.....

But I digress.

I'm thinking about getting a new coat.  I know what kind of coat I want, but I have no idea where to get it.

So earlier tonight, on the bus, this guy is standing across from me, wearing the exact type of coat I want to buy (possibly).  So I'm thinking, This is my chance to find out where I can get a coat like that.

But I don't want to bother the guy.  He's minding his own business on the bus.  It would be weird to just ask him about the coat.  (And he wasn't Asian, so my normal Chinese-language excuse wasn't going to work in this situation.)

So I dilly-dally in my mind, back-and-forth, Do I ask him?  Do I not ask him?  What do I do?

After a few minutes of mental tug-of-war, I decide to ask him.  So I make the approach, say excuse me, and ask him where he bought his coat.

"China" he says.

.......

(That is the end of this story.  Sorry to disappoint.  I was sort of disappointed.)

(Erg!  I just realized I should have asked him if he speaks Mandarin!  Darn, a missed opportunity.  Ni tsai narr mai zhe jaca? )