The first time Madeline Kevelson stepped foot into a John Fluevog Shoes store, she was immediately greeted by employees wearing dirndls for no reason other than they had all decided it was dirndls day. “So casual, I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is fabulous.’ I was immediately drawn in,” she tells Teen Vogue. She left the store not with new shoes but with a sense of warmth. Four years and 43 pairs later, Kevelson, 27, is now assistant manager at the brand’s Soho location in New York City. She cannot imagine her life without Fluevog looming large.

For collectors like Kevelson, the distinction between fan and muse is next to none, as she and her fellow employees—called Fluevogologists—are integral to the 56-year-old Canadian brand’s identity and following, aptly named the Flummunity. They’re the utmost megafans, and they know the brand nearly as well as its founder John (who is based in Vancouver but does frequent the New York locations).

“That first time I was there, they were so welcoming. I wasn’t even buying anything,” Kevelson continues, reflecting on the always kind experience when shopping (or simply admiring) Vogs, which fans call them colloquially. She had only gone to the store in the first place to borrow her friend Amrit Khalsa’s Munsters, an exaggerated Mary Jane platform, for a Halloween costume. Since Khalsa worked at the Dumbo location, Kevelson figured she would stop by during her shift. Fate must have been listening closely that afternoon because, just weeks later, a part-time position opened up at the Prince Street location.