Earnings Per Share Computation of Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share (Details) (USD $) In Millions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended						4 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Sep. 06, 2014	Jun. 14, 2014	Mar. 22, 2014	Sep. 07, 2013	Jun. 15, 2013	Mar. 23, 2013	Jan. 03, 2015	Dec. 28, 2013	Jan. 03, 2015	Dec. 28, 2013	Dec. 29, 2012
Earnings Per Share, Basic, by Common Class, Including Two Class Method [Line Items]
Net earnings attributable to Wolverine World Wide, Inc.	$ 57.8	$ 27.5	$ 37.1	$ 54.4	$ 17.9	$ 29.8	$ 10.7	$ (1.7)	$ 133.1	$ 100.4	$ 80.7
Adjustment for earnings allocated to nonvested restricted common stock									(2.9)	2.3	(1.7)
Net earnings used to calculate basic earnings per share									130.2	98.1	79.0
Adjustment for earnings reallocated to nonvested restricted common stock									0.1	0.1	0.1
Net earnings used to calculate diluted earnings per share									$ 130.3	$ 98.2	$ 79.1
Weighted average shares outstanding									101,433,114	100,253,617	97,632,336
Adjustment for nonvested restricted common stock									(3,228,955)	3,308,162	(2,757,836)
Shares used to calculate basic earnings per share									98,204,159	96,945,455	94,874,500
Effect of dilutive stock options									1,860,661	1,993,343	2,154,152
Shares used to calculate diluted earnings per share									100,064,820	98,938,798	97,028,652
Earnings per share - Basic	$ 0.58	$ 0.28	$ 0.37	$ 0.55	$ 0.18	$ 0.30	$ 0.11	$ (0.02)	$ 1.33	$ 1.01	$ 0.84
Earnings per share - Diluted	$ 0.57	$ 0.27	$ 0.36	$ 0.54	$ 0.18	$ 0.30	$ 0.10	$ (0.02)	$ 1.30	$ 0.99	$ 0.81