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Income loss from continuing operations net of tax after participating securities.

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Income loss from discontinued operations net of tax after participating securities.

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Net income loss attributable to parent after allocation of earnings to participating securities.

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Securities (including those issuable pursuant to contingent stock agreements) that could potentially dilute basic earnings per share (EPS) or earnings per unit (EPU) in the future that were not included in the computation of diluted EPS or EPU because to do so would increase EPS or EPU amounts or decrease loss per share or unit amounts for the period presented.

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The amount of net income (loss) for the period per each share of common stock or unit outstanding during the reporting period.

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The amount of net income (loss) for the period available to each share of common stock or common unit outstanding during the reporting period and to each share or unit that would have been outstanding assuming the issuance of common shares or units for all dilutive potential common shares or units outstanding during the reporting period.

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This element represents the income or loss from continuing operations attributable to the economic entity which may also be defined as revenue less expenses and taxes from ongoing operations before extraordinary items, and noncontrolling interest.

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The amount of net income (loss) from continuing operations per each share of common stock or unit outstanding during the reporting period.

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The amount of net income (loss) derived from continuing operations during the period available to each share of common stock or common unit outstanding during the reporting period and to each share or unit that would have been outstanding assuming the issuance of common shares or units for all dilutive potential common shares or units outstanding during the reporting period.

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Amount of income (loss) from a disposal group, net of income tax before extraordinary items allocable to noncontrolling interests. Includes, net of tax, income (loss) from operations during the phase-out period, gain (loss) on disposal, provision (or any reversals of earlier provisions) for loss on disposal, and adjustments of a prior period gain (loss) on disposal.

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Per basic share amount, after tax, of income (loss) from the day-to-day business activities of the discontinued operation and gain (loss) from the disposal of the discontinued operation.

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Per diluted share amount, after tax, of income (loss) from the day-to-day business activities of the discontinued operation and gain (loss) from the disposal of the discontinued operation.

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Additional shares included in the calculation of diluted EPS as a result of the potentially dilutive effect of share based payment arrangements using the treasury stock method.

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Amount of Net Income (Loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest.

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Earnings allocated (not distributed) to participating securities under the two-class method to the extent that participating securities may share in earnings as if all of the earnings for the period had been distributed.

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The average number of shares or units issued and outstanding that are used in calculating diluted EPS or earnings per unit (EPU), determined based on the timing of issuance of shares or units in the period.

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Number of [basic] shares or units, after adjustment for contingently issuable shares or units and other shares or units not deemed outstanding, determined by relating the portion of time within a reporting period that common shares or units have been outstanding to the total time in that period.

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Earnings (Loss) Per Share (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2015	Nov. 01, 2014	Aug. 02, 2014	May 03, 2014	Feb. 01, 2014	Nov. 02, 2013	Aug. 03, 2013	May 04, 2013	Jan. 31, 2015	Feb. 01, 2014	Feb. 02, 2013
NUMERATOR
Net earnings from continuing operations									$ 82,943	$ 53,982	$ 35,171
Net (earnings) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests									(93)	177	287
Net earnings allocated to participating securities									(3,068)	(2,304)	(1,757)
Net earnings from continuing operations									79,782	51,855	33,701
Net earnings (loss) from discontinued operations									0	(16,086)	(7,967)
Net (earnings) loss allocated to participating securities									0	687	392
Net earnings (loss) from discontinued operations									0	(15,399)	(7,575)
Net earnings attributable to Brown Shoe Company, Inc. after allocation of earnings to participating securities									$ 79,782	$ 36,456	$ 26,126
DENOMINATOR
Denominator for basic continuing and discontinued earnings per common share attributable to Brown Shoe Company, Inc. shareholders									42,000	41,000	40,659,000
Dilutive effect of share-based awards for continuing operations and discontinued operations									0	0	135,000
Denominator for diluted continuing and discontinued earnings per common share attributable to Brown Shoe Company, Inc. shareholders									42,000	42,000	40,794,000
Basic earnings (loss) per common share:
Basic earnings (loss) per common share: From continuing operations (in dollars per share)									$ 1.90	$ 1.25	$ 0.83
Basic earnings (loss) per common share: From discontinued operations (in dollars per share)									$ 0.00	$ (0.37)	$ (0.19)
Basic earnings per common share attributable to Brown Shoe Company, Inc. shareholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.37us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasic	$ 0.76us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasic	$ 0.41us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasic	$ 0.35us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasic	$ 0.14us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasic	$ 0.63us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasic	$ 0.36us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasic	$ (0.26)us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasic	$ 1.90us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasic	$ 0.88us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasic	$ 0.64us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasic
Diluted earnings (loss) per common share:
Diluted earnings (loss) per common share: From continuing operations (in dollars per share)									$ 1.89	$ 1.25	$ 0.83
Diluted earnings (loss) per common share: From discontinued operations (in dollars per share)									$ 0.00	$ (0.37)	$ (0.19)
Diluted earnings per common share attributable to Brown Shoe Company, Inc. shareholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.37us-gaap_EarningsPerShareDiluted	$ 0.75us-gaap_EarningsPerShareDiluted	$ 0.41us-gaap_EarningsPerShareDiluted	$ 0.35us-gaap_EarningsPerShareDiluted	$ 0.14us-gaap_EarningsPerShareDiluted	$ 0.63us-gaap_EarningsPerShareDiluted	$ 0.35us-gaap_EarningsPerShareDiluted	$ (0.26)us-gaap_EarningsPerShareDiluted	$ 1.89us-gaap_EarningsPerShareDiluted	$ 0.88us-gaap_EarningsPerShareDiluted	$ 0.64us-gaap_EarningsPerShareDiluted
Options to purchase common stock, not included in computation of diluted earnings per common share									64,497	86,247	998,701