I've had a shoe fetish when it comes to pool and have tried MANY different shoes, not all of them, but a lot of them. Most of the time, I listened to friends who play pool with like mind, body and spirit. Sometimes, I take the advice of others in the medical field who are on their feet for long periods of time or sales people who spend a lot of time on concrete.
On athletic shoes: The top shoe manufacturers all make great shoes, but you should try on several different pairs while you are in the store to find out which pair YOUR FEET like best.
I guess the same can be said of the other types of shoes.
My conclusion after trying many pairs of shoes is that a WALKING SHOE is best for playing pool for long periods of time.
I sometimes wear a pair of New Balance MW927BK, 2E,
but my favorite shoe is the Mephisto Match Shoe Item# 13398 at onlineshoes.com Size: 11 M Color: Tan Grain
They have free shipping and a great return policy. Check with them before ordering. I think they even have a live chat to answer your questions.
I've had the Mephisto Match shoes for I guess a couple of months now and find myself wearing them everyday. I know that you have to give shoes a little breather between wearings and I suppose the intelligent thing is for me to swallow hard and belly up to the keyboard and buy another pair, maybe black this time. Yeah, they're kind of expensive and I never thought in a million years I would ever recommend buying a $350 pair of shoes. My dad who grew up in the Great Depression has to be turning over in his grave.